Israel Army Radio reported on Thursday that Israel has begun preparing plans to attack Iran's nuclear facilities after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) destroyed nearly 90% of Syria's air defense capabilities that had previously protected Iran. .
Doron Kadosh, a military correspondent for Army Radio, reported on the air that Israel had destroyed 86% of Syria's surface-to-air missile capabilities, including 500 other locations targeted by the IDF since the fall of the Assad regime on Sunday. .
In a post on X, Kadosh detailed that Israel used 1,800 rounds of ammunition in the attack on Syrian weapons. The ammunition was intended for other purposes, but was repurposed as the regime began to fall.
It added that the plan for the attack on the Syrian army had only been drawn up two days before the regime's fall, and was only improved at 10 a.m. Sunday, just hours after Assad fled the capital Damascus. .
He said Israeli military and intelligence officials were now preparing operational plans for an attack on the regime's nuclear facilities, with a “clear axis against Iran.” The decision to launch a strike will be left to elected political leaders.
Separately, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the scale of the destruction of Syrian defenses in a statement.
In recent weeks, the IDF, led by the Directorate General of Intelligence, has been conducting a comprehensive situation assessment of the situation in Syria. Anticipating the possible fall of the Assad regime, the Israeli Air Force prepared a major offensive plan to eliminate Syria's advanced military capabilities, including strategic weapons.
In recent days, hundreds of Israeli Air Force fighter jets and aircraft have been deployed to Syria's most strategic weapons, including fighter jets, helicopters, Scud missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, surface-to-sea precision-guided missiles, and surface-to-air. caused serious damage. Missiles, surface-to-surface missiles, radars, rockets, etc.
Most of the attacks severely damaged Syria's air defense systems, destroying more than 90% of its identified strategic surface-to-air missiles. Syria's air defenses are among the strongest in the Middle East, and the damage inflicted represents a significant achievement for the Israeli Air Force's dominance in the region.
Additionally, a Syrian air base was also attacked. One of the bases attacked was T4 airport in the northern region of Damascus, where two squadrons of the Syrian Air Force (SU-22 squadron and SU-24 squadron) were destroyed. Another base targeted was the Bure airport, which was home to three fighter squadrons. A storage area for surface-to-surface missiles and rockets located about 1.5 kilometers from the base was also attacked.
Additionally, the Israeli Air Force attacked central manufacturing and storage sites, including sites in the Homs region. The facility is a key facility for Syria's Scud missile program and is considered one of the most important infrastructures for Syria's manufacturing industry, CERS.
Iran has pursued nuclear weapons for decades, but began rapidly enriching uranium after President Joe Biden took office (although the Biden administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal signed by President Barack Obama). , which would have allowed Iran to emerge as a nuclear deal (in any case, it would become a nuclear power in about 10 years). Israel and the United States have long considered military attack on nuclear weapons programs as a last resort.
The United States has discouraged Israel from carrying out such attacks, and Israel has said in the past that Iran-backed Hezbollah has a presence in Lebanon and is thought to be able to fire thousands of rockets at Israel at once. , whose existence was prevented.
But Israel's stunning success against Hezbollah over the past few months has eroded that deterrence. In retaliation against Iran for its recent large-scale ballistic missile attack on Israel, Israel attacked at least one nuclear facility.
Israeli leaders may believe the need for an attack is urgent for two reasons. First, the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump has expressed a desire to end the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
Second, Iran may conclude that it has no choice but to accelerate its nuclear weapons development, having lost most of the other deterrents it had tried to create in the “ring of fire” of terrorist organizations surrounding Israel. be.
In the past, Israel would not have considered attacking Iran's nuclear facilities without consulting the United States, but in recent days Israel has attacked Syrian forces without waiting for the Biden administration's consent.
Israel does not intend to wait for input from a lame-duck White House and may rely on past statements by President-elect Trump, who said earlier this year that Israel should attack its nuclear facilities in response to Iranian missile attacks. .
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
