Israel launched mini drones overnight against an Iranian military base in Isfahan, in the center of the country. The operation, apparently very limited and without any casualties, seems to have put an end to a week of very high tension in the Middle East, which began with last Saturday's attack on Israel. The words attributed by Tass to a senior official of the ayatollah's regime go in this direction, according to which no immediate retaliations are foreseen. The direct state-to-state attacks between the two archenemies are "over", ventured a regional intelligence source quoted by CNN.
Tehran - despite having closed the airspace during the night - minimized the effects of the raid and also questioned whether it was the Jewish State that carried it out directly. Israel for its part has not claimed responsibility for the events in Isfahan, nor has it commented on them officially. The US also pulled out. "We are not involved - said Secretary of State Antony Blinken - in any offensive operation. What I can say is that we are working on de-escalation. I don't want to say anything else, we were not involved".
The G7 meeting in Capri immediately called for de-escalation in a confrontation that could lead to a situation with unpredictable effects. And he decided to focus on further sanctions against Iran: "In light of the news of the raids on April 19, we invite all parties to work to prevent further escalation. The G7 will continue to work to this end."
According to the most accredited reconstructions, three mini drones were launched - around 4 pm in Italy and on the day of the 85th birthday of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - towards the base in Isfahan, an important military and nuclear center in the country. Some media, such as the Jerusalem Post, have spoken of long-range missiles but there is no confirmation on this point. After just under three hours the alarm ended, Iran reopened the airspace and flights from Tehran airport resumed. "The micro aerial vehicles - announced Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian - were shot down without causing casualties or damage. The pro-Israeli media - he added - attempted to make their failure a victory and exaggerate the issue". Then he warned that Iran is ready to strike hard "the Israeli regime if it commits a serious mistake once again."
The circumstances of the operation are decidedly less clear. A member of the parliamentary committee on national security, Shahriar Heidari, said that the flying objects targeted by the Iranian defense system were "mini American or Israeli surveillance drones". Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian parliament from Isfahan, instead said that Israel's "desperate attempt" was carried out with "the help of local agents" but "failed". Analysts quoted by Iranian state TV also claimed that the mini drones shot down by Iranian air defenses in Isfahan were piloted by 'infiltrators' from inside Iran. While the commander in chief of the Iranian army, Abdolrahim Mousavi, even defined as "absurd" the reports attributing the raid in Esfahan to Israel, claiming that the explosions were due to the shooting down of "flying objects".
There were very few reactions in Israel, where there were no consequences to the attack and where the army did not decide on any changes to the rules for citizens. An Israeli source simply told the Washington Post that the raid in Isfahan "is a signal to Iran" that "Israel has the ability to strike inside the country." The only official comment was that of the Minister of National Security, the ultra-right hawk Itamar Ben Gvir, who defined his country's alleged reaction to the launch of 300 Iranian drones and missiles a week ago as "soft", attracting criticism from the opposition to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.