The chair of the Iranian parliament's defence committee claimed today that the drone that was spotted over the Israeli sky earlier this month collected important data about military bases. Israeli officials refused to comment since the investigation is still under way.
The drone that was launched on October 6 by Iran-backed Hizbollah militants managed to fly over Israeli airspace for 30 minutes before it was shot down by the Israeli Air Force.
Today, Iranian officials claimed they have photos of secret military bases, and sources say they might have recorded the preparations for a joint Israel-US exercise.
If this is the case, it is a rare breach of the Israeli airspace and could cause great damage to the Israeli defence system, especially if the nuclear reactor near Dimona was part of the feed.
Israel officials said that the military is inspecting the drone in order to find evidence for any “sensitive pictures” that might have been taken. The same officials refused to comment on the Iranian statement since, they said, there is an ongoing investigation.
In a CNN interview, drone expert Micah Zenko, of the Council on Foreign Relations, said this incident was not unusual since Hizbollah has been flying drones over Israel for years. “Sometimes,” he said, “Israel doesn’t even bother to shoot them down.”
