A view of a drone during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on August 24, 2022. Photo: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters

Iran has “specially designed” a drone capable of attacking Israel’s largest coastal cities, an Iranian general said on Monday.

The suicide drone was identified by Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari, who commands the ground forces of the Iranian army, as “Arash 2” during a television interview, Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported.

“He noted that [the] drone was specially designed for attacking Haifa and Tel Aviv, adding that it is a unique drone made for that purpose,” the semi-official outlet added.

The comments come amid doubts over the possible revival of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Iranian officials — from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on down — have repeatedly threatened to attack Tel Aviv and Haifa to deter action by Israel, which has pledged to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. In June, Heydari said Iran “will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground by the order of the supreme leader” should Israel make “any mistake.”

Also on Monday, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Idan Roll, who is in Berlin as part of Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s delegation to the country, spoke with Olta Xhaçka, foreign minister of Albania, which severed diplomatic ties with Iran on Wednesday. The rupture came after Iran carried out a cyberattack in July that temporarily disabled some Albanian government services, according to the Balkan country — a charge Tehran denies.

On Saturday, Albania reported a second cyberattack from “the same aggressors.”

Roll said he expressed “appreciation” for Albania’s decision in his discussion with Xhaçka, “and offered to share our knowledge and experience in cyber defense.”