Explosions echoed across Iran on Friday after sources said Israel carried out a drone attack near a military air base, but Tehran was quick to play down the incident and signaled no immediate plans for retaliation – a response that appeared gauged to avert region-wide war. Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran was investigating the attacks, adding that so far, a link to Israel had not been proven as he downplayed the strike.
Speaking to NBC News, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian described the drones that were downed as small quadcopter “drones” and dismissed them as having done minor damage or even caused any injuries. He added that the “Zionist regime’s media supporters were trying to make an issue out of it and a big deal, but the truth is these were downed mini-drones that did not cause any casualties.”
The ministry statement came as a senior Iranian official was quoted by state television as saying that the drones that were downed were part of a drone group based in Iraq that was working on a project to create a new drone with better capabilities. The official said that the drones were trying to reach Iranian soil, and the Iranian air defense system had promptly downed them.
Sources in the security establishment in both Iran and Israel expressed doubt that the drones had been flown by Israeli planes. In a sign that the government was seeking to calm tensions, President Ebrahim Raisi didn’t mention the attacks near Isfahan in his sermon at Friday prayers and, with Iran’s muted response, appeared to have succeeded in de-escalating a dangerous confrontation.
But despite the limited scope of the drone strikes, analysts said that Israel could be testing the waters with Iran after its unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on Israel on April 13 that was mainly intercepted. Israeli officials were expected to carry out more military actions in the coming days. Still, experts said they would be careful not to escalate the situation into a full-scale war.
Regional security experts believe both sides are attempting to save face by minimizing the impact of their actions. A leading analyst in the field, Professor Michael Clarke, said it made sense for Iran to downplay the strike as it relieved them of the need to respond with further action and allowed them to avoid escalation.
The US administration was quiet, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken avoiding comment. He did say that the United States was committed to Israel’s security but did not get involved in its offensive operations.
A senior Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, attributed the quiet to the success of diplomats who were working to defuse the crisis following Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel. The Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, had been under pressure to deliver a strong response, but it was clear that he did not want to risk an all-out war with Iran, the official said.
