Despite the official denial from Hezbollah, let us assume, for the sake of argument, that the drone shot down over Israel indeed belongs to the Party of God [Hezbollah].

This would not be the first time Hezbollah has sent an unmanned drone into Israel. There are specific reasons calculated by Hezbollah and Iran every time [a drone is sent]. Three months ago, Israeli aircraft flew a greater distance than that which separates Israel from Iran, and bombed a target in Sudan.

On this long distance flight, the Israeli aircraft refueled mid-air, and were able to avoid detection by the radar networks of all countries over which they flew on their way to their target. According to sources close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the IRGC believed, back then, that Israel included a message to Iran in its raid. This message was that Israeli aircrafts can reach and destroy Iran’s nuclear reactors. According to these sources, it seems that Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution — in cooperation with the IRGC which shares the same hardline stance — decided to respond to Israel with a stronger message.  

Immediately after that, an Iranian-made Ayoub drone took off from Hezbollah’s launching pad from Lebanon into Israel. The drone flew relatively close to the Israeli Dimona nuclear reactor, before Israeli interceptors shot it down. At the time, Secretary-General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah claimed responsibility for the operation while speaking on the [Hezbollah-affiliated] satellite TV station Al-Manar. In his speech, he intended to include this event in his message saying that when the party threatens Israel with military surprises — if Israel were to launch a war against Lebanon — it means what it says. This is proved by the Ayoub drone, which penetrated the Israeli defenses and reached sensitive targets.