Iran claims to have shot down an Israeli stealth drone flying above Natanz, home to one of the Islamic Republic’s key uranium enrichment sites. Natanz is centrally located deep within Iran.
They reported:
The downed aircraft was of the stealth, radar-evasive type and it intended to penetrate the off-limit nuclear area in Natanz… but was targeted by a ground-to-air missile before it managed to enter the area… This act demonstrates a new adventurism by the Zionist regime… The Revolutionary Guard and the other armed forces reserve the right to respond to this act.
Israel has not responded to the claim.
This episodes comes about six weeks after Israel employed a Patriot Missile to shoot down a Hamas-launched drone above the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. Al-Qassam, the militant wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for launching the drone. It was the first such incursion from the Palestinian group, but they promised that more drones would follow.
Since October, 2012, Israel has shot down several drones launched from Hezbollah. These drones are all believed to be of Iranian design.
While one could question the logic of Israel launching such a bold new front against their regional foe while they are currently engaged in such a heated battle with Hamas in Gaza, it is clearly in line with Israel’s very vocal desire to keep Iran from becoming a nuclear power. A nuclear-armed Iran would significantly alter Israel’s options in future conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah, both recognized as Iranian proxies.
While there are those who fear that a nuclear-armed Iran would launch an attack on Israel, the more immediate (although less existential) threat would be if Israel found itself fighting against terrorist organizations on several fronts who were protected by an Iranian nuclear umbrella.
Israel argues that this is unacceptable. Iran denies that it is seeking nuclear weapons.
Following the downing of the drone, a Twitter account run in the name of (and seemingly with at least tacit approval from) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted:
As victims of #WMD, Iran has never sought nor will ever seek WMDs; conventional arms sufficient for our self-defense. pic.twitter.com/BWIHV3aLM3
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) August 24, 2014
But just one day earlier, Iran denied the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) entry to the Parchin military base. The IAEA thinks that a “large explosives containment vessel was built [there], and that it might be used to conduct experiments related to a nuclear weapons program.” International inspectors have been seeking access to the site since 2005.
Iran this week also unveiled two new drones in their arsenal, along with a new short-range marine missile.
Four years ago the world learned of Stuxnet, and the conflicts of the Middle East officially entered a new digital era. While the US has long been using drone technology to help fight its battles, both foreign and domestic, it looks like drones have now also been inserted firmly into the world’s most complicated—and dangerous—region. The future of war will still certainly be deadly, but it looks like it may also be unmanned.
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