Iran-Israel Shadow War: Now in the Open
By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
Iran’s Attacks Against Israel
Booms and air raid sirens sounded across Israel early this Sunday after Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a regionwide war. An Israeli military spokesman said the launches numbered more than 300 but 99 % percent of them were intercepted (AP/Associated Press: Josef Federman & Jon Gambell, April 24).
Calling the outcome “a very significant strategic success,” Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, mora than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Of these several ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing damage to an air base.
Rescuers said a 7-year-old girl in a Bedouin Arab town was seriously wounded in southern Israel, apparently in a missile strike, though they said police were still investigating the circumstances of her injuries.
In Washington, President Joe Biden said U.S. forces helped Israel bring down “nearly all” the drones and missiles and pledged to convene allies to develop a unified response.
The Iranian attack, less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building, marked the first time Iran launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Condemnation from the United Nations chief and others was swift, with France saying Iran “is risking a potential military escalation,” Britain calling the attack “reckless” and Germany saying Iran and its proxies “must stop it immediately.”
Adm Hagari said the vast majority of the intercepts came outside Israel’s borders, including 10 cruise missiles that were intercepted by warplanes.
A wide-scale attack by Iran is a major escalation,” he said. Asked whether Israel would respond/retaliate, Hagari said only the army ‘does and will do whatever is required to protect the security of the state of Israel.” He said the incident was not over, and dozens of Israeli warplanes remained in the skies.
Israel said its Arrow system, which shoots down ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, handled most interceptions and noted that “strategic partners” were involved.
U.S. ‘Anticipatory Strategy’
“At my direction, to support the defence of Israel, the U.S. military mover aircraft and ballistic missile defence destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,” Biden said in a statement. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our service members, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.”
U.S. Defence Secretary Llyod Austin said in a separate statement that U.S. forces “intercepted dozens of missiles and UAVs(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) en route to Israel, launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.”
Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke early Sunday, Israeli time, their governments said. Biden said in his statement that he reaffirmed “America’s ironclad commitment” to Israel’s security – a departure from his growing criticism of Israel’s conduct in its war on Hamas in Gaza.
Iran had vowed revenge since the April 1 Israeli airstrike in Syria. Which Tehran accused Israel of being responsible for. Israel
Israel and Iran have been on a collison course throughout Israel’s six-month war against Hamas militants in Gaza. The war erupted after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack on October 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. An Israeli offensive in Gaza has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,000 people, according to local health officials.
Almost immediately after the war erupted, Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon, began attacking Israel’s northern border. The two sides have been involved in daily exchanges of fire, while Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen have launched rockets and missiles toward Israel.
In a statement carried late Saturday by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards acknowledged launching “dozens of drones and missiles towards the occupied territories and positions of the Zionist regime.”
In a later statement, the Revolutionary Guards issued a direct warning to the U.S.: “The terrorist U.S. government is warned any support or participation in harming Iran’s interests will be followed by decisive and regretting response by Iran’s forces.”
IRNA also quoted an anonymous official saying ballistic missiles were part of the attack. A ballistic missile moves on an arch trajectory, heading up into space before gravity brings the weapon down at a speed several times faster than the speed of sound.
Israel has a multi-layered air-defence network that includes systems capable of intercepting a variety of threats including long-range missiles, cruise missiles, drones and short-range rockets.
However, in a massive attack involving multiple drones and missiles, the likelihood of a strike making it through is higher.
Iran has a vast arsenal of drones and missiles. Online videos shared by Iranian state television purported to show delta-wing-style drones resembling the Iranian Shahed-136s long used by Russia in its war on Ukraine. The slow-flying drones carry bombs. Ukraine has successfully used both surface-to-air missiles and ground fire to target them.
Some Israelis watched the interceptions light up the night sky.
Air raid sirens were reported in numerous places including northern Israel, southern Israel, the northern occupied West Bank and the Dead Sea near the Jordanian border.
Israel’s army ordered residents in the Golan Heights – near the Syrian and Lebanese borders – as well as the southern towns of Nevatim and Dimona and the Red Sea resort of Eilat into protective spaces.
Dimona is home to Israel’s main nuclear facility, and Nevatim has a major air base. Loud booms were heard in Jerusalem and northern and southern Israel.
The Israeli army’s Home Front Command cancelled school Sunday and limited public gatherings to no more than 1,000 people.
Israel and some other countries in the region closed their airspace.
Iran which has been insisting on diplomatic niceties, itself violated the air space of many countries during its revenge attack.
Earlier, Netanyahu warned: “Whoever harms us, we will harm them.”
In Washington, Biden convened a principals meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to discuss the attack.
Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, was in Israel over the weekend consulting with Israeli defence officials. The Central Command oversees U.S.forces in the Middle East.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations issued a warning to both Israel and the U.S. : “Should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe,” it wrote online. “It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the U.S. must stay away!”
For days, Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had threatened to “slap” Israel for the Syria diplomatic strike, which was no doubt against diplomatic norms.
In Iran’s capital, Tehran, witnesses saw long lines at gas stations early Sunday as people appeared worried about what may come next.
Dozens of hard-liners demonstrated in support of the attack at Palestine Square.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported heavy Israeli airstrikes and shelling on multiple locations in south Lebanon following Iran’s launch of drones. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched ‘dozens’ of Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military site in the Golan Heights early Sunday. It was not immediately clear if there was any damage.
Iranian missiles or drones were intercepted in the sky above the Jordanian capital, Amman.
In Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, and elsewhere in the country, residents reported seeing missiles in the sky and hearing explosions, likely from interceptions.
In Syria, explosions were heard in the capital, Damascus, and elsewhere. Britain based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Syrian air defences tried to shoot down Israeli attempts to intercept Iranian missiles (AP: Federman/Gambrell).
The Fallout
The unprecedented attack by Iran on Israel early Sunday ratcheted regional tensions, confirming long-held fears about the Israel-Hamas war spiraling into a broader conflagration.
But Iran, Israel, the United States and Hamas seemed to walk away with some gains (AP: Tia Goldberg, April 14).
- Israel’s Response Could Restore Faith in it’s Military
- Iran Scored Gains & Shows Off its Might
- The United States Stood by Israel Resolutely
- Hamas May Benefit Somewhat from Iran’s Direct Involvement.
What do media experts, commentators, academics & pundits
Adam Roberts of The Economist writes that Iran’s retaliation was the opposite of shock and awe. The vast majority of slow-moving drones and the faster missiles were easily shot from the sky.
Ishaan Tharoor of The Washington Post writes that the Biden administration congratulated Israel – along with itself and allies — on their “spectacular” success in fending off the unprecedented barrage of missiles and drones, even as it made clear its desire for PM Netanyahu’s coalition government to declare victory and refrain from striking back.
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the non-resident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative. Writing for the Atlantic Council notes that Iranian honour has been satisfied; the physical damage done to Israeli targets has been minimal. “The next step does not have to be escalation.”
Ali Vaez , Director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, is of the opinion that if both Iran and Israel willingly go up the escalation ladder, then the Greater Middle East is still at risk of a bigger conflict that would have no winners, that is, it could very well explode (Foreign Affairs, April 15).
The writer can be reached at: shashipbmalla@hotmail.com
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect People’s Review’s editorial stance.
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