Photo by
Kobi Richter/TPS on 19 April, 2020
Iranian Media: ‘Missile to Dimona is Message to Israel: the Sensitive Areas are not Immune’
Jerusalem, 22 April, 2021 (TPS) -- Iranian and Arab media and commentators claimed Thursday following the surface-to-air missile that was fired from Syria to Israel’s southern Negev that “what happened near the Dimona reactor is a message to Israel that the sensitive areas, including the Dimona site, are not immune.”
Iran mocked Israeli commentators and explanations about the circumstances of the incident and claimed that the reactions in Israel tried to hide the intensity of the incident and created the impression that it was a stray missile, which was fired in response to an Israeli bombing in Syria.
Arab and Iranian media also claimed that the reports in Israel “have clear gaps” and do not accurately describe the events. Iranian commentators claim that a ground-to-ground missile was actually fired, and not in response to an Israeli Air Force attack in Syria, and surprised Israel which failed to intercept it.
An Iranian military expert estimated on Twitter that the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) is behind the launch of the missile from Syrian territory and explained that the Guards hold ballistic missiles in Syria. According to him and several reports, this is a missile of the Fatah 110 class, a surface-to-surface missile, capable of reaching as far as the Dimona site.
It should be noted, however, that in one of the media sites, it was emphasized that although the missile is capable of hitting the Dimona site, Iran does not intend to cause a “disaster.”
Commentators in Iran suggested that there was a connection between Wednesday night’s events and sabotage at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, and some commentators cited the Iranian Kihan newspaper, which is close to the regime, and which demanded a few days ago to strike the Israeli nuclear facility in Dimona.
The Arab Post newspaper asks “what if the missile had fallen on the Dimona site?” and estimated that this is a message to Israel regarding the threat from Tehran.
“Israel experienced a serious incident when a missile fired from Syria fell only 30 km from one of the most sensitive areas in Israel,” the newspaper said.
The missile, in fact, exploded mid-air, and one of its pieces was found at a large distance of half an hour drive from Dimona.
The Arab and Iranian media reported extensively on the “state of confusion” created in Israel after the missile was fired, noting that in Israel questions are already being asked about the circumstances that enabled the missile to fly hundreds of kilometers while not being intercepted.
Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV said that “Dimona is not immune” to Iranian missiles and social media is praising Iran’s capabilities, and many reshared the hashtag “We will soon pray in Jerusalem” or “Dimona is under fire.”
However, Israeli expert on Iran Raz Zimet wrote Thursday that “Iran’s reactions to the Negev strike and the ‘mysterious explosion’ in the weapons factory in central Israel earlier this week are a reflection of Israel’s reactions to the ‘mysterious death’ of the Qods Force deputy commander, who died, officially, of a heart attack, and of a senior in general in the IRGC, who died of Corona.”
“It is a combination of distrust of official reports and a desire to hang on to imaginary achievements and an addiction to conspiracies,” he explained.
