The New York Times quoted US and Israeli officials as saying that the raid with drones that targeted an American base in Al -Tanf (southern Syria) last month was an Iranian response to an Israeli raid in Syria.
A prominent American military official told the newspaper that two out of 5 drones exploded and were carried by explosive devices, and that the aim of the raid was the killing, but it did not result in any injuries.
The newspaper also quoted American and Israeli officials that the examination that was conducted on 3 aircraft was not exploded..
The New York Times indicated that US officials suggest that Iran has issued instructions and equipped proxy forces that carried out the attack on al -Qaeda, which houses 200 American soldiers..
The newspaper quoted a US official that the Iranians were hesitant to attack Israel directly for fear of revenge, and preferred to resort to the second option, which was the Americans..
The US official added that Iran wanted to avoid direct confrontation with the Americans, but it risked a major risk by attacking the base of Tanf.
He considered that it was possible that Tehran would force Washington to a military response if American soldiers were killed at the base of Al -Tanf.
The New York Times quoted two senior officials in Washington that Iran may have believed that the air strike would be seen as an initiative from the militias, not from Tehran..
Iran has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Iranian media praised it.
"A number of these incidents occurred in which they accused Iran without any evidence or documents," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatib Zadeh said at a press conference last week..
He added that the countries that have established military bases in Syria without an invitation from the regime and that the continued support of some countries for "terrorism" are the real reason for instability in the region and in Syria..
The Al -Tanf base is located on a vital road for Iran -backed forces, as it extends from Tehran through Iraq and Syria to southern Lebanon and the Israeli border.
The American response to this raid was the announcement of new sanctions on two senior members of the Revolutionary Guards and other Iranian officials, in addition to two companies that the United States says are related to the Revolutionary Guard aircraft program.