HOSSEIN BERIS/Getty Images
That apparent targeting focus and the number of ballistic missiles used indicates that Tuesday’s Iranian strike “may have been designed to overwhelm the Israeli Arrow ballistic missile defense system by saturating it with large numbers of systems in relatively small and densely populated areas,” ISW said.
The conflict analysts said the available evidence suggests Iran was going beyond just a show of force in its Tuesday strike.
Despite this, the attack was reportedly largely repelled by Israeli air defenses, as well as assets from the US and its allies and partners. While details on the casualties and damage to Israeli targets are still unknown, the IDF said Tuesday that the “majority” of ballistic missiles were intercepted, though there were some impacts in areas in central and southern Israel.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also said Tuesday the attack was “defeated and ineffective.” Vice President Kamala Harris said that while “we are still assessing the impact, but initial indications are that Israel, with our assistance, was able to defeat this attack.” She said “our joint defenses have been effective.”
Iran’s April strike, too, also appeared designed to test the effectiveness of Israel’s air defenses, such as Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow 2 and 3, but Israel was able to fend off that unprecedented attack with its complex air-defense network and support from partner nations.
April’s strike focused on Israeli positions in northern and southern Israel and included around 120 ballistic missiles, 170 attack drones, and 30 cruise missiles. It was the first-ever direct attack on Israel from Iranian soil and came in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Syria earlier that month, which killed several military officials.