NYT “Natanz air defense network destroyed … hiding radar defenses” “Strong message showing ability to neutralize air defense networks and nuclear weapons.”
Although Iran claims that no real damage was done by the Israeli attack, the New York Times reported on the 20th (local time) that some defense systems were damaged in this attack.
According to the NYT, Western and Iranian officials said that the Israeli attack on the 19th damaged a defense system near the center of the Iranian city of Natanz.
Two Iranian officials said Israeli missiles hit an S-300 anti-aircraft system at a military base in the nearby province of Isfahan. Satellite images reviewed by the NYT also showed that the S-300 system radar at the 8th Air Force Base in Isfahan was damaged.
It is not clear what weapon was used. However, Western and Iranian officials confirmed that Israel had deployed aerial drones and that at least one missile had been fired from a fighter jet.
The missile was launched from a fighter jet far from Israeli or Iranian airspace and reportedly contained technology that could evade Iranian radar defenses. It did not enter Jordanian airspace.
Iranian officials said that the Iranian military had not detected anything entering this airspace, including drones, missiles or aircraft. Iran’s state news agency IRNA said there was no missile attack and that Iran’s air defense system was not activated.
Iranian officials previously dismissed the attack as apparently carried out by small drones and apparently launched inside Iranian territory.
Western officials believe the attack was a calculated attack designed to send the message that Iran could inadvertently bypass Iranian defense systems and paralyze its air defenses.
Two Western officials told The New York Times that Israel scrapped an original plan to respond to the Iranian attack on the 13th with a major attack, instead launching an attack aimed at sending a quiet but firm message. to end the cycle of revenge.
It is also said that the use of undetectable drones and missiles launched inside Iran is a kind of ‘taste’ of how a major attack will be carried out against Iran.
In particular, nuclear experts believe that this attack targeting Natanz has a major impact, as Israel has been training bombing and missile operations again to eliminate Iran’s nuclear production capabilities for more on 10 years.
Natanz is Iran’s main nuclear production line, where large amounts of natural uranium are fed to centrifuges to turn it into UF6, a gas that can be used to generate electricity or make nuclear fuel for nuclear weapons.
The fact that neither Iranian nor Israeli officials have publicly commented on this attack has been interpreted as a step to ease concerns about an escalation of war.
An Iranian official told the NYT that if Israel remains silent about this attack, Iran may also view this attack as a covert attack in a shadow war and not want an immediate response.
“This airstrike was precise and limited,” said Dana Stroul of the Washington Institute for Middle East Policy and former assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. send a message that Iran’s military cannot protect its military installations from outside attack.” “Delivered,” he elaborated.
However, “the damage was limited,” he said. “The escalation cycle could end if Iran’s leaders decide that the risk of an even deadlier and costlier attack inside their own soil is not worth further escalation.”
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2024-04-20 12:17:00
