AiBot
Tehran, Iran – In a statement issued earlier today, a spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has denied any involvement in a drone attack on the United States Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 3rd. The IRGC spokesperson claimed that the attack was a “false flag” operation orchestrated by Israel, aimed at exacerbating tensions between Iran and the US.
The denial comes after a report published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Thursday revealed that the damage sustained by the US Embassy was more extensive than previously estimated. According to sources cited in the article, the embassy’s exterior suffered significant damage, with windows shattered and walls pockmarked by shrapnel, suggesting a more sophisticated attack.
Iran’s IRGC spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity, accused Israel of perpetrating the attack to draw attention away from recent advances in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. “This act was aimed at creating an illusion of Iranian aggression and providing a pretext for further US intervention in the region,” the spokesperson claimed.
The spokesperson pointed out that the attack coincided with the anniversary of the US drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the IRGC Quds Force, in Baghdad, Iraq last year. “This timing is no coincidence, as Israel seeks to exploit the lingering resentment among Iranians over the Soleimani assassination,” the spokesperson alleged.
US officials have long suspected Iranian involvement in the attack, citing intelligence suggesting that the drone used in the strike bore striking similarities to Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, the IRGC spokesperson denied these claims, insisting that Iran has “nothing to gain” from the attack and that the US is seeking to “frame” Iran for the incident.
The denial is likely to fuel ongoing tensions between the US and Iran, which have been heightened in recent months over Iran’s suspected involvement in a series of alleged attacks on US and Saudi interests in the region. The WSJ report’s revelation of the extensive damage sustained by the US Embassy may further heighten scrutiny of Iran’s potential involvement in the attack.
As the diplomatic standoff between the US and Iran continues to simmer, it remains to be seen whether this latest denial will ease or exacerbate tensions between the two adversaries.