'Israel' only repelled Iran attack with help from US, Arab states: WSJ
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The Wall Street Journal underlines that the Israeli occupation only managed to repel Iran's massive drone and missile attack with help from the United States and other Arab allies.
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Israeli Iron Dome air defense system launches to intercept missiles fired from Iran, in central occupied Palestine, April 14, 2024. (AP)
Western media outlets have been reporting over the past day that Iran's retaliation did not inflict much damage on "Israel", and although the occupation has a long-established policy of greatly underreporting the damage it suffers, as part of its propaganda campaign to appear as a fortress, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the "successful" deterrence of Iran's attack goes back to the assistance "Israel" was provided by the United States and allied Arab states.
"American, British, and Jordanian warplanes played an especially important role in downing drones," WSJ said, underlining that the majority of Iran's drones and missiles were destroyed before reaching Israeli airspace due to the assistance it received.
It is noteworthy that the attack launched by Iran was far from a surprise attack, and begs the question of whether "Israel" and its allies can replicate their performance during the Iranian operation in the case of an all-out war, and whether "Israel" would be able to stand strong against Iran - and most likely its allies - by itself without any assistance.
"Israel" is before a tough crossroads, according to WSJ: It must attack Iran once again, otherwise it risks eroding its deterrence, and anything short of an attack on Iranian soil would also have the same effect, exposing the Israeli occupation to more attacks by Iran, but at the same time, the occupying entity cannot sustain another large-scale Iranian attack if Iran chooses to retaliate - and it is likely to go with that option in light of its shift from a passive to an active stance in the region in the face of the Israeli occupation's violations.
"Iran [...] has now become exposed to a direct attack from Israel," former Israeli government analyst Nadav Pollak said. "Going forward, Israel is not going to be able to sit quietly and intercept everything."
Israeli failure
The Israeli occupation's inability to counter the retaliation is due not only to it not having a sufficient quantity of air defenses in the case of an all-out war, but also to the fact that the air defenses they use, including the Arrow and Patriot anti-air systems, are extremely expensive, with little quantities in store. This comes amid ongoing deliberations in Congress that have postponed when the Israeli occupation would receive its munitions, as the US cannot agree on a military aid package that bundles together "Israel", Ukraine, and Taiwan.
The Israeli and Arab air defense systems were overwhelmed with an attack that is only a fraction of Iran's actual missile and drone capabilities, which could easily not just overwhelm, but bypass the existing air defenses.
Some analysts, such as Jonathan Schanzer, a researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, even suggested that the whole operation was Iran "testing the missile-defense system, the resolve of the regional countries, the resolve of the United States."
The WSJ went on to explain Iran's strategy, comparing it to Russia's biggest attacks on Ukraine in the midst of the ongoing war, first using a swarm of Shahed drones to overwhelm the air defense systems and locate air defense batteries, followed by cruise missiles and then ballistic missiles, which are typically hard to intercept.
Attack more successful than expected
The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, announced on Sunday that two important Israeli military sites were targeted in Iran's response.
According to Bagheri, the Israeli intelligence's headquarters in "Mount Hermon," and the Nevatim Air Base were destroyed in the operation carried out earlier today, dubbed True Promise.
The first base provided "Israel" with information on the consulate in Damascus, while the F-35 used to carry out the strikes took off from the airbase.
Read more: Iranian response to be tougher if 'Israel' makes any move: Ghalibaf
Bagheri pointed out that the attack, which was carried out with ballistic and cruise missiles, "was planned to target the airbase from which the Israeli aircraft that attacked our consulate departed."
"A considerable number of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles have been used in this operation with well-thought-out tactics and proper planning, as neither the Iron Dome nor the Zionist regime's missile defense shield could take any significant action against this operation."
"The operation's purposes have been fulfilled," Bagheri declared.
