Iran Tests New Attack Drones, Launches One at Fake Israeli Target

Iran’s military tested new attack drones as part of an annual drill in the Gulf of Oman and near the Strait of Hormuz. During the exercise, according to the state media, Iran’s military launched a drone to warn off what it said was a spy plane. It is not known what country sent the plane, though the Iranian military has had confrontations with the US in the Gulf in the recent past. The annual joint naval, air and ground exercises in the Gulf began on Friday and continued through the weekend. The US and other world powers claim that Iran supplies such drones to Russia for use in its war on neighboring Ukraine. Iran says it provided the drones to Russia before it launched its invasion. During the drill, the Iranian military reportedly launched a drone carrying explosives at a mock base designed to look like Israel’s Eilat Naval Base. It is not the first time that Iran has used targets meant to resemble sensitive sites in Israel.