Has Iron Dome been breached? Iran claims using ‘new method' to hit Israel; watch missiles in action
Israel-Iran tensions
Iranian forces unleashed barrage of missiles on Israel early Monday, targeting major cities including Tel Aviv and Haifa, marking a dramatic escalation in tensions between the two regional powers.
The assault damaged residential areas and raised global concerns about the potential for a wider Middle Eastern conflict.
Powerful explosions shook Tel Aviv as Israel's defence systems intercepted Iranian missiles. Plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky over the coastal city.
Iran says 'new method' made attack more effective
Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed to have employed a novel attack method that allegedly caused Israel's multi-layered defence systems to target each other.
"The initiatives and capabilities used in this operation, despite the comprehensive support of the United States and Western powers and the possession of the most up-to-date and newest defence technology, led to the successful and maximum hitting of the missiles on the targets in the occupied territories," it said.
They warned that future operations would be "more devastating, tougher, more precise, and more destructive."
"The arrogant dictator of Tehran has become a cowardly murderer who targets the civilian home front in Israel to deter the IDF from continuing the attack that is collapsing his capabilities," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. "The residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon."
Israel's
Iron Dome
Israel's primary defence mechanism, the Iron Dome, along with other air defence systems, intercepted many of the incoming Iranian missiles.
Military officials reported an "80 to 90% success rate" in intercepting these threats, though they acknowledged that no defence system is completely impenetrable.
The Iron Dome is Israel's sophisticated air defence system, primarily designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets, mortars, and drones. Developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems with American support, this defensive shield became operational in 2011 and has proven highly effective, with Israeli military officials reporting an impressive 80-90% success rate.
The system employs truck-mounted units that fire radar-guided missiles to neutralise incoming threats in mid-air. One of its notable features is its intelligent threat assessment capability - it can determine whether a rocket is headed toward a populated area and only intercepts those that pose a genuine threat, allowing others to land in unpopulated areas.
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India Today
8 minutes ago
- India Today
Israel is scoring heavily in the skies, but is that enough against Iran?
Will Israel attack Iran? When will it happen? Will the US support Israel in its misadventure? What will be the pretext? All these questions were answered when Israel launched a unilateral, preemptive strike deep into Iran on Friday the that Iran had developed enough fissile material in the past few months to build up to nine nuclear bombs, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called its Operation Rising Lion a necessary move to ensure Israel's survival. He added that waiting was no longer an strikes in the first few days have been precise and punitive, striking at critical assets in Tehran. In meticulously planned intelligence operations, it eliminated the entire top military leadership of Iran, including Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of Iran's Armed Forces, and Major General Hossein Salami, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps chief. It also struck key nuclear sites in Natanz and Fordow, oil depots in Shahran, key military installations, air defence assets, and the Iranian Military HQ in Tehran. Iran was quick to retaliate and struck many parts of Tel Aviv, including a direct strike on Israel's Military HQ building Kirya, which is often called Israel's Pentagon. Iranian missiles also struck the critical port of Haifa in Israel on June 15, which reportedly caused significant damage not only to the port infrastructure but also to the oil refinery in its close both nations unwilling to back down, the conflict looks set to escalate. What is interesting from a military perspective is the vastly different military capabilities of these two mighty regional powers and how each is leveraging its strengths. The degree to which they are matched up is evident from the Global Firepower Index, which ranked the militaries of Iran and Israel 16th and 15th this year. Geography also plays a crucial role. Separated by around 1,700 kilometres, a match-up of ground forces becomes more or less irrelevant. The match-up is therefore limited to stand-off weapon Military Match-upAir force: Israel has overwhelming superiority here, possessing the most modern fighter aircraft, such as the F-35 and the F-16. Its might and reach are almost unmatched by Iran's old and ageing air force. Coupled with the capabilities of air-to-air refuelling, courtesy of the US, Israel completely dominates Iran in the defence: Israel has overwhelming superiority in air defence, with its Patriot and Arrow systems. The former is a well-tested American system that was used during the First Gulf War in 1991 to intercept Iraq's Scud missiles, and recently, to intercept long-range missiles launched by the Houthi from Yemen. The latter is a modern anti-missile defence system developed by the US to intercept long-range Iron Dome and Iron Shield systems, with an interception success of over 90 per cent for short-range rockets and missiles, add to the arsenal. And the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system of the US, capable of intercepting missiles at longer ranges of 200 km and beyond Earth's atmosphere, completes the comparison, Iran has an old S-300 air defence system coupled with other older Russian anti-aircraft missiles. It developed the Bawar 373, which is touted to be almost as good as the Russian S-400 system. But it is yet to prove its worth. No wonder Israel declared 'air superiority' just three days into the systems: It is in its missile systems that Iran holds an edge over Israel. Iran's array of missiles is the largest and most modern in the region. Many Iranian missiles are capable of carrying nuclear payloads, which has long been an international concern, leading to the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which called upon Iran 'not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons'. In its medium- and long-range categories are the Khorramshahr-1, 2, and 3 — medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) with ranges of 2,000–3,000 km — the Fatah-1 with ranges of 1,400–1,700 km, and many others like the Sejjil (2,000 km) and the Paveh (1,650 km). Iran has also developed hypersonic missiles that fly at Mach 5 speeds and above and are beyond the interception capability of most anti-missile on the other hand, has more short-range missiles with ranges up to 500 km that cannot target Iran directly. However, it has Jericho-2, an MRBM with ranges of 1,500 to 3,000 km, and Jericho-3, an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a range of 4,800–6,500 In drones, both are evenly matched, although Iran may hold an edge given the number of drones it has and their Kamikaze possesses a variety of drones and has mastered developing low-cost ones. It exported its drones to Russia, which effectively used them against Ukraine. Prominent among them is the Shahed category of drones, which are suicide or Kamikaze drones meant to explode on targets. These include the Shahed-101 and has also developed the longer-range Shahed-136 drones (over 2,500 km) that can carry 20–40 kg of explosives, around double that of Shahed-131, enough to cause significant damage in a non-hardened structure. The Shahed-238 drones also have jet propulsion, making them faster and capable of carrying more payload. There are also the Samad-1, 2, and 3 categories of drones, which have an effective range of 1,800 km and can carry sufficient payload to inflict comparison, the Israeli drones are superior in technology and costlier. The major ones include the famous Heron and Hermes 900 armed drones that have a range of over 1,000 weapons: Israel's arsenal of nuclear weapons is an open secret. Most analysts estimate it has 90–140 nuclear warheads. Iran, on the other hand, has no nuclear weapons yet, giving an edge to and intelligence: With its advanced satellite systems and detailed coordination with the West, Israel is way ahead of Iran in terms of satellite coverage and real-time data links. Even in terms of intelligence, Israelis have proved more than once how effective it is in penetrating enemy lines and carrying out targeted strikes. The elimination of the Hezbollah leadership in September last year, Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in April last year, and the top Iranian military leadership recently are cases in Iran has traditionally leveraged the 3H (Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis) to good effect in the region in the past. However, with Israel decimating Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran's proxies are not as effective against Israel as before. Israel is not known to have any proxy groups, relying mostly on its intelligence services to do the support: Israel scores over Iran, with the 'iron-clad' support from the US, the UK and many other Western powers. Iran, on the other hand, is left to fight the battle largely on its own, despite strategic partnerships with Russia and China, which have not shown any direct military support yet. Also, Arab countries in the region are rather ambivalent and have chosen to watch from the match-up between Israel and Iran is, therefore, relatively equal. Iran has a greater capacity to absorb strikes due to its vast territory and extensive infrastructure. It is also likely to gain the upper hand if the conflict turns into a war of attrition, given the size of its economy and its military-industrial Israel, the best option would be to either end the war soon or somehow get the US actively involved. In a prolonged conflict, Iran will likely prevail. Another lesson from recent conflicts, which Israel would do well to remember, is that stand-off weapon systems rarely win wars. If Gaza is still standing after three years of unprecedented punishment, Iran is a much bigger challenge for Israel and the US.(Col Rajeev Agarwal is a Foreign Policy Expert and a Senior Research Consultant at Chintan Research Foundation, New Delhi)(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch
India Today
8 minutes ago
- India Today
Once allies, now archrivals: The fallout between Iran and Israel
Since the launch of Israel's military offensive on Iran, Operation Rising Lion, in the early hours of June 13 amid the former's concerns over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, the two countries have exchanged at least four waves of missile and drone strikes on each other. What might be a surprise to an onlooker is well recorded in history that the two nations, now locked in open conflict, were once close allies. Their alliance, forged in the decades before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, was built on shared strategic interests, deep military cooperation, and strong economic present-day hostilities escalated dramatically with a coordinated Israeli strike reportedly modelled on Ukraine's June 1 Operation Spider's Web, Israel seemingly used camouflaged weapon platforms hidden in civilian vehicles in Iran, which it remotely activated to disable Iran's air defences to provide a clear path for Israeli air hit key infrastructure and defence sites in Iran, killing several top Iranian generals, and reportedly two senior nuclear scientists as well. In response, Iran launched ballistic missiles and drones at Tel Aviv and Haifa cities, some of which breached Israel's Iron Dome air defence, causing damage to civilian infrastructure along with dozens of civilian per a Reuters report, the expression "Rising Lion" is taken from verse 23:24 of the Book of Numbers in the Bible. The verse says, "Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain."advertisementNotably, this is also the first time that Israel has launched a full-scale offensive on Iran, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing in a speech soon after the attacks, 'This operation will continue for as many days as it takes"Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has also pledged a "bitter and painful" retaliation against behind the current warfare lies a forgotten chapter of being closer allies, when Tehran and Tel Aviv worked hand in hand across sectors, united by regional threats and geopolitical WERE NOT ALWAYS ADVERSARIESThough Israel and Iran have been adversaries since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, they were once close allies, sharing strong military and economic ties, united against a common fact, Iran was the second Muslim-majority country, after Turkey, to recognise Israel after it was formed in how did it begin?Following World War II and a wave of decolonialisation, in which colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence from European empires, the world powers had the Palestine question to the UN proposed the Partition Plan for the British Mandate of Palestine in 1947, Iran was among the 13 countries that voted against it. In 1949 again, Iran reiterated its stance and voted against Israel's entry into the UN as a practical geopolitical and strategic interests soon led to a covert relationship between Iran and Israel. Yet, in public, Iran declined to recognise Israel till back then, Iran housed the largest Jewish population in West RETURN OF THE SHAH: A MULTIFACETED ALLIANCEThe return of the Shah's rule in Iran, following an alleged CIA-engineered coup in 1953, marked a turning point in Iran-Israel Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Iran and Israel forged a multifaceted Pahlavi regime viewed Israel as a natural ally, particularly because of common adversaries such as Egypt, then under Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the Iraqi Republic, then ruled by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath alliance saw economic, military, and intelligence cooperation between Iran and Israel. They also developed a close relationship over shared interests in keeping the Communist USSR out of West Asia, as both were backed by the capitalist Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion's concept of alliance of the periphery, a foreign policy strategy developed by Israel in the 1950s and 1960s, aimed at countering hostility from neighbouring Arab countries by building alliances with non-Arab states and minority groups on the periphery of West Asia, Iran found a friendly that time, the young Jewish state sourced 40% of its oil from Iran, trading in return weapons, technology, and agricultural from Iran was critical of Israel's industrial and military needs, as hostile Arab nations had put an oil embargo on the Jewish state. The Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company, established in 1968, was a key joint project that allowed Iranian oil to be transported to Israel, bypassing the Suez Canal under the return, Israel provided Iran with modern military equipment to fight its war against Iraq in the 1980s. The Iranians even imported advanced missile systems, M-40 antitank guns, Uzi submachine guns and aircraft engines from Israel. The Shah of Iran even admired Israel because of its military success against its came Project Flower, which was an Israeli-Iranian venture to jointly develop advanced missile the secret police of Pahlavi Iran, SAVAK, was created in 1957 with the assistance of the CIA and culturally, the Pahlavi dynasty promoted a narrative that stressed Iran's pre-Islamic past and its distinctiveness from Arab culture. This helped the Iranian regime to justify its affinity with DECLINE OF IRAN-ISRAEL RELATIONSThe Iranian Revolution of 1979, which pushed the Pahlavi dynasty out of power, leading to the establishment of an Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, turned Iran's foreign policy and worldview upside down. However, in the initial years, Iran and Israel still continued with their Israel and Iran saw it in their interests to counter the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. Iraq was part of three of the four Arab wars against the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, Israel reportedly sold arms worth $500 million annually to Iran. To facilitate these deals, Israel even established Swiss bank accounts, Time magazine the 1980s, Iran had a divided military structure. The regular army, known as the Artesh, was a holdover from the Shah's era and was seen as more traditional and professional. Alongside it, the newly-established Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) emerged as a parallel force that was ideologically driven and directly loyal to Ayatollah Israeli brass in Jerusalem was hopeful that the arms supply would keep the regular Iranian military happy and topple the fledgling regime of the covert ties continued for some time even after the Iran-Iraq war, but got worse with now a theocratic state, saw Israel as an occupier of Palestinian land. Iran even labelled Israel as "Little Satan", while the US was called the "Great Satan".Shia Iran wanted to be the power centre of West Asia, and started challenging Saudi Arabia, the Mecca of Sunni Islam. It also saw both Israel and the US as interfering in regional new Iranian government severed all diplomatic ties with Israel, and the country began to support Palestinian and other anti-Israel movements was in this period that Iran started supporting Shia Lebanese elements, which later took the shape of ANIMOSITY POST-GULF WARThe end of the Gulf War in 1991 marked the start of open hostility between Iran and Israel. With the Soviet Union's collapse and the US emerging as the sole superpower, regional divisions deepened, placing Iran and Israel on opposing sides of nearly every major geopolitical nuclear programme, launched in the 1980s, became a flashpoint in the 1990s. It's also the main reason for the current backed by the US and Western allies, demanded Tehran abandon its ambitions, viewing them as a threat to global security. To them, Iran, under the radical leadership of first Ruhollah Khomeini and later Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was a growing rivalry soon spilt into covert operations, public threats, and proxy is important to note that throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Iran, as part of its anti-Israel strategy, waged proxy wars against Israel through non-state militant groups such as Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and the the years, Israel responded to these threats by carrying out targeted assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists and top military the decades, Israel has also conducted repeated military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and numerous military targets in Syria, with the key objective of preventing Iran from re-establishing its strategic foothold in the the latest escalation being the first time that Israel has launched an indefinite military offensive against Iran with an official declaration by the prime minister, the situation in West Asia may blow up into a prolonged regional war between two former allies turned archrivals.
Indian Express
9 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Indian embassy in Iran in touch with students to ensure safety, relocation amid Israel conflict
The Indian embassy in Iran has said that it is continuously monitoring the situation and engaging with Indian students to ensure their safety and relocation amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel. The statement by the Ministry of External Affairs read, 'The Indian Embassy in Tehran is continuously monitoring the security situation and engaging Indian students in Iran to ensure their safety.' 'In some cases, students are being relocated with Embassy's facilitation to safer places within Iran. Other feasible options are also under examination. Further updates will follow. Separately, the Embassy is in touch with community leaders regarding welfare and safety,' it added. Earlier, former president of Jammu and Kashmir BJP unit Ravinder Raina said that the Centre is taking necessary steps to ensure the safety of students and businessmen from his state. On Sunday, the Indian embassies in Israel and Iran issued an advisory to all Indian nationals and persons of Indian origin to stay in touch with the office, and provided a list of emergency contact numbers on X (formerly Twitter). People were also advised to stay in touch with the embassy on social media. On the same day, Lok Sabha MP Ruhullah Mehdi said that an Israeli strike hit Hujat Dost Ali hostel in Tehran, housing several Kashmiri students. He said that some students sustained minor injuries. The J-K National Conference leader said he wrote to External Affair Minister S Jaishankar, 'urging their relocation within Iran or evacuation once the airspace opens.' Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also said he spoke to the Jaishankar who assured him that necessary steps were being taken in this regard. On the other hand, citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Portugal, the Philippines and Finland have crossed the Astara border checkpoint and headed to the airport in Azerbaijan's capital, according to media reports. New Delhi and Baku are amid a diplomatic rift following the latter's support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. The conflict between Islamic regime and Israel has entered its fourth day with a wave of Iranian missiles breaching Israel's Iron Dome and hitting Tel Aviv and Haifa, among other cities. The direct confrontation between the two countries was triggered by airstrikes under the umbrella of Israel's Operation Rising Lion on June 13, which targeted Iranian nuclear and defence installations and crippled Iran's military chain of command by killing key officials.
