Photo: YouTube screenshot, Global News
Did Iran know almost 100 percent of its drone and missile attacks on Israel would be intercepted? By giving the U.S. warning, Iran basically made sure the drones and missiles wouldn’t be very successful. It seems they needed to act, but there was more theatre than intention to do much damage.
In fact, it was the U.S., not Israel, that shot down a majority of the Iran drones and missiles. American forces did most of the heavy lifting responding to Iran’s retaliation for the attack on its embassy in Damascus, The Intercept reported.
More than half of Iran’s weapons were destroyed by U.S. aircraft and missiles before they ever reached Israel. While the extent of the U.S. military operation is unknown to the American public, the Pentagon coordinated a multination, regionwide defense extending from northern Iraq to the southern Persian Gulf on Saturday. During the operation, the U.S., U.K., France, and Jordan all shot down the majority of Iranian drones and missiles.
While Iran says it gave the U.S. warning, the U.S. says this is untrue, Reuters reported.
“U.S. intelligence estimates that half of the weapons fired by Iran failed upon launch or in flight due to technical issues,” a U.S. Air Force senior officer told The Intercept. Of the remaining 160 or so, the U.S. shot down the majority, the officer said. The officer was granted anonymity to speak about sensitive operational matters.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) directed The Intercept to a press release saying CENTCOM forces supported by U.S. European Command destroyers “successfully engaged and destroyed more than 80 one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen.”
According to Israel, Iran launched over 330 drones, low-flying cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, comprising around 30 cruise missiles, approximately 180 drones, and 120 intermediate-range ballistic missiles, alongside other weapon types, CNN reported. Israel asserts that all drones and cruise missiles originated from Iranian territory. Additionally, according to IDF data, a few extra missiles were launched from within Yemen.
Photo: YouTube screenshot, Global News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLyI3264_tA
