In a recent development that has garnered significant attention, the media in Iran has published documentation of a series of explosions heard in the city of Gorgan, located in the northern part of the country. Furthermore, footage circulating on social networks captured a large object falling in the middle of a street within the city.
According to the available documentation, the falling object caused damage to several shops in the vicinity. While initial reports suggested it might have been part of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), a subsequent video depicted a series of explosions within the city, possibly indicative of an attempt to intercept an unidentified aircraft.
Adding to the complexity of the situation, media outlets associated with the opposition in Iran have reported a coordinated drone attack on various facilities in the northern city of Gorgan, which is situated approximately 30 kilometers from the Caspian Sea. However, it is important to note that there has been no official verification of these reports. Nonetheless, videos from the city clearly depict scenes of explosions.
#Iran regime missile test today failed and parts of it, probably "Zelzal" fell on the citizens of the northern city of Gorgan near the Caspian sea. pic.twitter.com/N3goHCkBAP
— BenSabti (@BeniSabti) September 18, 2023
Simultaneously, a conflicting report originating from an Iranian media outlet outside of the country suggests that the incident involved the crash of a fifteen-year-old ballistic missile. The evidence for this version seems to be the fragments observed on the ground. Nevertheless, Iran has not yet officially confirmed or denied this report, leaving room for speculation and uncertainty.
It is worth highlighting that drone attacks targeting facilities of the Revolutionary Guards and the military industry in Iran have occurred sporadically over the past few years. Iranian authorities have consistently attributed these operations to the Mossad and Israel. For instance, in a similar incident earlier this year, a major missile production and development facility in Isfahan, located in the southwest of Iran, was targeted by multiple drones. Iranian authorities presented wreckage allegedly belonging to the attacking aircraft and attributed the attack to Israel.
These developments in Iran are also occurring against the backdrop of recent reports from Syria. Just last week, officials in Syria reported an Israeli attack in the western part of the country, specifically in the northern section of the Tartus area. Subsequently, Syrian media reported another attack in central Syria.
A drone crashed in the city of Gorgan
— Sprinter (@Sprinter99800) September 18, 2023
This drone was shot down in a residential area of the city of Gorgan in northern Iran.
The sound of the explosion caused by the fall of this drone was heard throughout the city of Gorgan pic.twitter.com/S1XdSMmYHL
The consequences of these attacks have been are largely unknown, with conflicting reports. The Syrian Center for Human Rights indicating three soldiers killed and eight others wounded, including an officer. Earlier, the center had claimed that three Hezbollah members lost their lives in the attacks. A senior Syrian source on the other hand, revealed that defense systems were activated to counter the attack, which targeted multiple locations in the Tartus area. According to this source, the planes launched several missiles from the direction of the sea towards the Syrian coast, with most of them being successfully intercepted by anti-aircraft missiles.
