Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Monday that Iran’s failed attack on Israel over the weekend “speaks quite a lot” about Iran’s weapons capabilities.
The reporter asked Ryder what lessons the United States learned from this attack and what it says about Iranian and American capabilities.
Ryder said the United States had “learned a lot from this incident,” but did not elaborate.
“I hope you understand that I am not in a position to give an after-action report from the podium today, but other than to say that Iran has conducted over 300 airstrikes, which is a significant As we did, 99% of them were knocked down,” he said. “So this demonstrates close coordination and synchronization between the United States and our coalition partners when it comes to addressing air defense threats in the region.”
Iranian demonstrators carry a model missile as a minaret during an anti-Israel rally in Felestina (Palestine) Square, with the dome of the mosque visible in the background. Monday, April 15, 2024, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran’s attack on Israel late Saturday involved hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. This included 110 intermediate-range ballistic missiles, more than 30 land-attack cruise missiles and more than 150 unmanned aircraft, according to the Pentagon. Ryder said both land and sea aircraft were involved in the attack.
Only seven ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing minor damage to the air base. Israeli and American forces shot down the rest with support from British and French forces.
Israel weighs options after Iran’s ‘brazen’ attack.united nations general assembly
The latest attack comes as Iran had been warning of retaliation for several days after an airstrike on the Syrian consulate earlier this month killed more than a dozen people, including a top Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander. It was expected.
Iranian pro-government supporters raise a giant Palestinian flag in Tehran’s Palestine Square to celebrate the early morning attack on Israel by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on April 14, 2024. (Photo credit: Hossein Beris / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)
The attack marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military attack on Israel since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, despite decades of hostility. Tensions between the two countries have reached an all-time high in recent months after Hamas militants stormed into Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage.
Ryder did not say whether Israel had notified Washington of any possible retaliatory plans, but Israel’s war cabinet met on Monday to discuss the situation.
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Ryder said Iran had not forewarned the attack, which Turkish, Jordanian and Iraqi officials dispute.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
