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Israel-Iran conflict: How Israel gained air superiority over Tehran
Two days after launching the June 13 attack on Iran, the Israeli military took control of the air corridor connecting Israel to Tehran. This dominance marks the culmination of a long conflict with Iran and its proxies, known as the "axis of resistance": Hezbollah, the Syrian regime, and Iraqi militia groups. After years of indirect confrontations, Israel took advantage of a favorable situation to act directly, by escalating the pressure in successive stages.
The first turning point came in April 2024. On April 1, Israel destroyed an Iranian consular building in Damascus, killing several officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The first direct confrontation between the two regional powers followed: On April 13, Iran targeted Israel's territory for the first time, notably the Nevatim Air Base in the Negev desert, with a barrage of 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles. The attack, which had been announced in advance, caused a limited level of damage. On April 19, the Israeli military responded in a measured, yet decisive, manner: Its air force destroyed a Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft battery, which had been tasked with defending nuclear facilities at Isfahan and Natanz. "This was a strategic warning strike to underline Israel's ability to attack any target located in Iran," wrote Pierre Razoux, academic director at the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies (FMES), in a study on the challenges of air superiority in the Middle East, published on May 20.
