Iran-Israel war: How Iran plans to retaliate against Israel's Operation Rising Lion? Potential targets include...

India.com

18 hours ago

(File)
Iran-Israel war: Iran suffered extensive damage in Sunday's air strikes by Israel that killed some of Tehran top nuclear scientists and military commanders, including, IRGC chief Hossein Salami, commander Ghulam-Ali Rashid, nuclear scientist Dr. Mohammad Tehranchi, nuclear scientist Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi and Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri.
Tehran has vowed vengeance, stating that its response will be anything beyond what Israel and ally, the United States, could ever imagine, triggering the fears of a full-scale Iran-Israel war. But how would Iran actually retaliate on the ground? Let us take a look at some of the methods Iran could use to target Israel. Houthis and other proxies could engage Israel on multiple fronts
Iran has an extensive network of proxies, including the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon, Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, and several militia groups in Iraq. While these groups have been significantly weakened by Israeli forces in their military campaign launched after the October 7 Hamas attack in 2023, but they could still pose a major threat to the Jewish nation if Tehran directs them to attack Israel on multiple fronts.
Iraqi militias have access to long-range attack drones, and have also allegedly received ballistic missiles from Iran in the last seven years, which could be used to attack Israel at Iran's behest, according to a report by the Jerusalem Post. The Houthis have ballistic missiles as well as cruise missiles and military drones. Iran's missile arsenal and kamikaze drones
Iran has previously used ballistic missiles and suicide drones to attack Israel, and its missile arsenal is one of the largest in the world. Tehran's missile capability is regarded by many as its greatest military asset, with an arsenal of over 3000 advanced ballistic and cruise missiles, including hypersonic missiles that can reach Mach 5 speeds (five times the speed of sound).
Iran's missile arsenal includes, Shahab-3 (2000 km range), Fateh-110 (300 km), Khaybar Shekan (1,450 km), and the Fattah hypersonic missile, which reportedly can reach speeds of up to Mach 5.
According to experts, Iran has increase the range and capabilities of its missiles and drones in recent years, and could use them in unison to launch an attack that would overwhelm Israel's advanced, multi-layered air defense system.
As per the report, Iran could use its Iraqi proxies to covertly move its missile systems and drones, and launch attacks on Israel from Iraq. Earlier, it was reported that Iran had launched more than 100 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones towards Israel in retaliation to the latter's airstrikes. Iranian Navy could block Persian Gulf
Iran has a conventional navy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy, which uses small ships and speed boats, and can be deployed from a larger mother ship to launch a swift strike on Israel. Meanwhile, Tehran could use the Iranian Navy to target mining vessels or commercial ships in the Persian Gulf or the Gulf of Oman, and also direct the Yemeni Houthis to Yemen to carry out similar attacks.
The large portion of global cargo passes through the Gulf, and Iran could trigger a crisis by blocking the vital route to put pressure on Israel. Israelis in other countries could be targeted
The report warned that Iran could use proxies like Hezbollah, Houthis and other armed militias to target Israeli citizens in other countries, including Turkey, Greece and Cyprus, South America, Europe and even parts of Asia. Iranian Army could target Israel's allies, US bases
Iran has a fairly large standing army with 6 lakh active soldiers and about 3.5 lakh reserves. These numbers are distributed across the Iranian Army, Navy, Air Force, most importantly, the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). While the large distance between Iran and Israel means Tehran's ground forces cannot be mobilized for a ground assault on Israel, Iranian forces could target Israel's allies in the Middle East, and US military bases in the Persian Gulf or Iraq. Iran could leverage its diplomatic prowess
Iran has invested heavily in diplomacy over the years, building close ties with Russia and China, and is one of the few countries that has good relations with both India and Pakistan. Tehran is also part of influential regional economic alliances like the BRICS and SCO, and could leverage its diplomatic strength to force Israel to stand down. Iran-Israel war
On early Sunday morning, Israel launched its fiercest attack on Iran, unleashing a wave of air strikes on Iranian cities, including capital Tehran, under Operation Rising Lion, in which several top Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders, including IRGC chief Hossein Salami, commander Ghulam-Ali Rashid, nuclear scientist Dr. Mohammad Tehranchi, nuclear scientist Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi and Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri.
Tehran has vowed to avenge the Israeli attack, stating that its response will be anything beyond what Israel and ally, the United States, could ever imagine, triggering the fears of a full-scale Iran-Israel war.