On Tuesday, Iran launched dozens of ballistic missiles against Israel, in an attack that the latter described as the “largest and most violent” attack against it, but without announcing any casualties as a result of these strikes.
This is the second attack in which Iran directly targets Israel, as it attacked it with missiles and drones in April, in what it described as a “response” to the targeting of the Iranian consulate in Syria.
Tehran held Israel responsible for the attack on the consulate, but the latter did not claim responsibility.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the Iranian attack, saying that Tehran had committed a “grave mistake,” threatening to “pay the price” for this bombing.
The Israeli army confirmed the interception of a “large number” of missiles.
Below is a review of the differences between the recent Iranian attack against Israel and the attack of last April 13.
“Twice as big”
The US Department of Defense said that Iran fired “twice” the number of ballistic missiles at Israel during its first attack in April.
Ministry spokesman Pat Ryder explained in statements to reporters on Tuesday that the attack “was twice as large in terms of the number of ballistic missiles they launched.”
Facts about Israel’s missile defense capabilities
Israel used its missile defense systems on Tuesday to repel a group of ballistic missiles launched by Iran in response to the Israeli campaign against the Hezbollah group, an ally of Tehran in Lebanon.
He stressed that according to the preliminary information available, “Israel was able to intercept the majority of the following missiles,” pointing out that American ships launched about 10 interceptor missiles to support Israel in confronting this bombing.
He added, “The damage was minor on the ground.”
In the April attack, Iran launched about 350 explosive drones and missiles towards Israel, most of which were intercepted with the help of other countries, including the United States.
A website report stated:AxiosThe American said that the use of ballistic missiles made Tuesday’s attack more difficult for Israel, compared to the previous attack in which most of what was used were drones and cruise missiles.
Israel said in April that it had repelled about 99 percent of the missiles and drones launched against it, and the United States and Britain then announced their participation in repelling the attacks, as well as Jordan.
Hypersonic missiles
The Revolutionary Guard announced the use of Fattah hypersonic ballistic missiles in the latest attack, which Iran revealed in June 2023.
The missile, according to Tehran, is medium-range and its speed reaches 15 times the speed of sound.
Hypersonic missiles fly in the atmosphere at high speed and at low altitude, and are capable of maneuvering, making it difficult to predict their path and thus intercept them, according to Agence France-Presse.
The Pentagon comments on reports of Iran developing “hypersonic” missiles
A Pentagon spokeswoman said Thursday that the United States casts doubt on the veracity of reports indicating that Iran has developed hypersonic missiles that are “five times faster than sound.”
Axios reported that these missiles could reach Israel within 12 minutes, while the drones and cruise missiles used in the first attack gave Israel and its allies more time to defend.
The website also indicated that the warnings of an imminent Iranian attack came shortly before the attack, despite Iran continuing to pledge to respond to Israel for two months since the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an explosion at his residence in Tehran.
Motives and response
The Israeli response to the first attack was “relatively small” in scope, but Israeli officials revealed to Axios that the response this time “will be much stronger.”
On April 19, Iran announced that explosions had occurred in the center of the country. Senior American officials spoke of an Israeli attack in response to the unprecedented Iranian attack against Israel at the time.
For its part, Iran downplayed the impact of the explosions without directly accusing Israel, which did not claim responsibility for them, according to Agence France-Presse.
The Axios report indicated that Israel’s current response “may be to target oil installations and other strategic sites,” while not ruling out carrying out assassination operations.
The American website added, according to its sources, that if Iran reacts to the expected Israeli attack “within days,” “all options will be on the table for Israel, including targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities.”
“Israel will respond to Iran’s attack within days.” A report reveals “possible targets”
Israeli officials said that their country will begin a “strong response” to the Iranian missile attack that targeted Israel, on Tuesday evening, within days, and may include targeting oil installations and other Iranian strategic sites.
The Iranian attack in April came after a strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus resulted in the killing of 7 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, including two of its commanders, according to Tehran.
Iran and Syria attributed the attack to Israel, which neither confirmed nor denied its implementation.
The Israeli army then announced that the victims of the attack on the consulate were “terrorists” working against Israel.
Nasrallah’s strike destabilizes Iran’s axis
The killing of Hezbollah Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, opened the door wide to questions about the repercussions of his absence on the Middle East region. Does his departure represent a major strategic blow to the so-called axis of resistance led by Iran, and how will the active Arab countries deal with this event?
As for Tuesday’s attack, it came after Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, after he attended the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian President, Massoud Pezeshkian, in an operation that Iran, the Hamas movement, and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement attributed to Israel.
Israel did not comment on Haniyeh’s killing, while it officially announced that it had killed the prominent military leader of Hezbollah, Fouad Shukr, with a strike on the southern suburb of Beirut that occurred hours before Haniyeh’s killing.
On September 27, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli raid on the southern suburb of Beirut, along with the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Abbas Nilforshan.
Iran said that Tuesday’s attack was a “response” to the killing of the trio, Haniyeh, Nasrallah, and Nilvorshan.
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