Tel Aviv [Israel], June 18 : In a first, Iran appears to have successfully downed an Israeli drone over the Isfahan area in the Islamic Republic on Tuesday, according to the state media, The Times of Israel reported.
Footage broadcast by Iran's state broadcaster IRIB shows what appears to be a crashed Israeli Air Force Hermes 900.
However, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) has not commented. It has previously denied Iranian claims, not backed by any evidence, of shooting down Israeli aircraft.
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli Air Force bombed five Iranian AH-1 helicopters at an airbase in Kermanshah, IDF Spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin says in a press conference.
"Their mission was to try and harm our aircraft," Defrin said.
The IDF released footage showing the strikes.
Israel hit two centrifuge production sites in Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on Wednesday.
The IAEA identified the facilities as the TESA complex in Karaj and the Tehran Research Centre.
"At the Tehran site, one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested," says the IAEA on X. "At Karaj, two buildings were destroyed where different centrifuge components were manufactured."
https://x.com/iaeaorg/status/1935263681840873744
Both sites had been under IAEA monitoring as part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), more commonly known as "the Iran nuclear deal," between Tehran and several world powers to restrict Iran's nuclear program.
The TESA complex, near the capital Tehran, hosted a workshop to build components for centrifuges, the machines used to enrich uranium. In 2021, Iran said cameras at the site were damaged during what it called an Israeli "sabotage" operation, as per The Times of Israel.
The Israeli Air Force hit over 1,100 Iranian assets in hundreds of strikes in Iran since Friday.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force also carried out strikes on over 75 targets in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, as per The Times of Israel.
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