Two Iranian drones shot down over Iraq last month by U.S. fighter jets were bound for targets in Israel, defense officials said Monday after a gag order was lifted.
The incident on February 14, came as Israeli security officials feared reprisal from Iran over Israeli attacks on Iranian targets.
Days later, Israel allegedly targeted a drone warehouse at an Iranian airbase in Kermanshah, destroying hundreds of drones.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards retaliated by launching a dozen missiles on what they called “strategic Israeli bases” in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil.
In this photo released on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, missiles are launched in a drill in Iran. (Iranian Revolutionary Guard/Sepahnews via AP)
The U.S. warplanes were said to have shot down Shahed-136s drones. Israel has warned against drone wars in the region.
Earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces announced that last March, two Iranian drones carrying firearms and ammunition were shot down Israeli fighter jets en route to the Gaza Strip.
According to the Haaretz daily, Israel believes the incident was part of an attempt to establish an airborne smuggling infrastructure from Iran to the Hamas-ruling Gaza Strip.