Iran blames Israel for Isfahan drone attack

The drone attack targeted a military factory in Isfahan on Saturday night, causing minor damage, according to authorities.

Footage shows what is said to be the moment of an explosion at a military industry factory in Isfahan, Iran, January 29, 2023, in this still image obtained from a video [Pool/WANA via Reuters]

Iran has blamed Israel for last week’s drone attack on a military factory near the central city of Isfahan, promising revenge for what appeared to be the latest episode in a long-running covert war.

The Iranian claim, carried by the semi-official ISNA news agency on Thursday, corroborates remarks made by United States officials following the attack.

The attack came amid tension between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear activity and its supply of arms – including long-range “suicide drones” – for Russia’s war in Ukraine, as well as months of anti-government demonstrations at home.

In a letter to the United Nations chief, Iran’s UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, said “primary investigation suggested Israel was responsible” for Saturday night’s attack, which Tehran had said caused no casualties or serious damage.

“Iran reserves its legitimate and inherent right to defend its national security and firmly respond to any threat or wrongdoing of the Zionist regime [Israel] wherever and whenever it deems necessary,” Iravani said in the letter.

“This action undertaken by the Zionist regime [Israel] goes against international law.”

Saturday’s attack targeted a military facility in Isfahan. Iran said it had intercepted the drones.

Arch foe Israel has long said it is willing to strike Iranian targets if diplomacy fails to curb Tehran’s nuclear or missile programmes, but does not comment on specific incidents.

Talks between Iran and world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal have stalled since September. Under the pact, abandoned by Washington in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, Tehran agreed to limit nuclear work in return for easing of sanctions.

Iran has accused Israel in the past of planning attacks using agents inside Iranian territory.

In July, Tehran said it had arrested a sabotage team of Kurdish hardliners working for Israel who planned to blow up a “sensitive” defence industry centre in Isfahan.

“The equipment and explosives used in the Isfahan attack were transferred into Iran with the help of anti-revolutionary groups based in Iraq’s Kurdistan region under orders by a foreign security service,” Iran’s Nournews said on Wednesday.

Several nuclear sites are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, the centrepiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, which Iran accuses Israel of sabotaging in 2021. There have been a number of explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial sites in recent years.

"Zero Tolerance": Over 1,800 Arrested Across Assam Over Child Marriages

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he has asked the police to act against the child marriage menace with a "spirit of zero tolerance".

Police are investigating more than 4,000 such cases of child marriage in Assam

Guwahati: More than 1,800 people have been arrested in a massive crackdown on child marriage in Assam so far, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said today.

The crackdown began early in the morning and it will continue over the next few days.

The Chief Minister said he has asked the Assam police to act against the menace with a "spirit of zero tolerance".

"State wide arrests are presently underway against those violating provisions of Prohibhiton of Child Marriage Act . 1800 + have been arrested so far. I have asked @assampolice to act with a spirit of zero tolerance against the unpardonable and heinous crime on women," tweeted Mr Sarma.

Police are investigating more than 4,000 cases of child marriage registered across Assam in less than a fortnight, the Chief Minister had said yesterday, declaring the crackdown will start from Friday.

"Assam Govt is firm in its resolve to end the menace of child marriage in the state. So far @assampolice has registered 4,004 cases across the state and more police action is likely in days ahead. Action on the cases will begin starting February 3. I request all to cooperate," he tweeted.

The Assam cabinet has decided to charge men who marry girls below 14 years of age under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences or POCSO Act, while the men who have married teen girls in the 14-18 years age group will be charged under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

The Chief Minister also said that the "war" against child marriage will be "secular" and no single community will be targeted. "Those who facilitate such marriages, like clerics and priests, will also face action," he said.

Assam has a high rate of maternal and infant mortality with child marriage being the primary cause.

"The main reason for the high infant mortality rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is child marriage. The state has an average of 31 per cent of marriages in the prohibited age," said Mr Sarma.

'Don't blame others for...': Taliban to Pakistan on Peshawar mosque blast

Peshawar Mosque Blast: On January 30, a suicide bombing at a mosque in the Peshawar Police Lines area claimed the lives of at least 101 people, mostly police officials.

Peshawar Mosque Blast: People stand amid the rubble, following a suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar.(Reuters)

The Taliban on Wednesday slammed the Pakistan Government for blaming Afghanistan for the Peshawar mosque blast.

The Taliban's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi called on Pakistan to investigate the Peshawar attack rather than blame neighbouring Afghanistan for terror carnage. "Don't blame others for your own failures," said the Taliban.

On January 30, a suicide bombing at a mosque in the Peshawar Police Lines area claimed the lives of at least 101 people, mostly police officials.

Muttaqi called on Pakistan to investigate the Peshawar attack instead of blaming Kabul and said that Afghanistan is not a safe haven for terrorists.

"If Afghanistan was the centre of terrorism, it would have gone into China, Central Asia & Iran," he said.

Muttaqi told a gathering in the capital, Kabul, that Pakistani officials should find a solution to their security challenges locally and desist from "sowing the seeds of enmity" between the two countries.

Pakistani authorities were quick to blame the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, also called Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), for what they said was a suicide bomb attack and suggested the violence emanated from Afghanistan, reported Voice of America.

Muttaqi echoed suspicions and questions being raised by critics in Pakistan in the wake of the large-scale destruction caused by the blast and said, "Our region is used to wars and bomb blasts. But we have not seen in the past 20 years a lone suicide bomber blowing up roofs of mosques and killing hundreds of people."

The TTP, designated a global terrorist group by the United States, has long been conducting deadly terrorist attacks in Pakistan and its leadership allegedly directs the violence from Afghan sanctuaries. But the Pakistani Taliban has formally denied involvement in the Peshawar mosque bombing, reported VOA.

Moazzam Jah Ansari, the provincial police chief, told reporters Tuesday that a suicide bomber had entered the mosque as a guest, using up to 12 kilograms of explosive material earlier brought to the site in bits and pieces.

A spate of recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, mostly claimed by the TTP, has strained relations between the two countries.

Pakistan is weighing its options to deal with the resurgence of terrorism with a focus on how to ensure that the Afghan interim government fulfills its promises, people familiar with the development have said.

It is evident from background discussions with the relevant quarters that Pakistan is increasingly frustrated over the lack of cooperation from the Afghan Taliban in tackling the growing threat posed by the banned TTP.

Meanwhile, the desperate police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been brought to the point where they are protesting for their rights.

"This is an example of a complete loss of trust in the State. They have been dying needlessly in the Establishment's double games, and there is no one to put an end to this," tweeted Mohsin Dawar, Member National Assembly, NA-48, North Waziristan.

In an unusual protest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police in front of Peshawar Press Club chanted slogans, "We know all the unknown persons."

Videos shared on social media show groups of police officers raising slogans against rising terrorism.

This is the first time in history that the province's police have protested against terrorism.