Iran launched dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into Israel on Saturday evening, following a week of threats of retaliation over the attack on its consulate in Damascus.
“Iran has launched an airborne attack against Israel,” White House National Security Council Press Secretary Adrian Watson said in a statement Saturday. “President Biden has been regularly briefed by his national security team and is scheduled to meet with them at the White House this afternoon.”
Iranian state news agency Mehr News reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) announced the start of an “anti-Zionist operation” to attack targets in Palestinian territory, with details of the operation to be announced soon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has been “preparing for the possibility of a direct attack from Iran” for several weeks and that his country’s “air defenses have been deployed. We are prepared for any scenario, both offensive and defensive.” It’s done,” he said.
Weeks after deadly Syrian consulate attack, Iran launches drone towards Israel
Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle Shahed 136 on display at Azadi (Freedom) Square in western Tehran, Iran, on February 11, 2024. (Morteza Nicobazul/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The shortest air distance between Israel and Iran is about 1,070 miles, which requires the longest-range missiles and drones in Iran’s arsenal.
The drone launched by Iran is reportedly of the Shahid model, which regularly works with the Iranian regime. Iran sold suicide model Shahed-136 and Shahed-107 drones, known as “suicide drones,” to Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his war cabinet in Kirya, Tel Aviv, after Iran launched a drone into Israel. (Israeli Prime Minister @IsraeliPM on X)
Gen. Jack Keene, head of the Institute for the Study of War (IFSW), told “Fox & Friends” on Friday that given Iran’s “weak air power and weak military capabilities,” Iran would rely on drones and missiles in any attack plan. He said he was most likely to become addicted. naval forces” and military forces that are “not particularly well trained or equipped.”
Instead, Iran has invested heavily in the development and production of dozens of different models of drones, including at least 10 models of suicide drones that explode on impact and attack ground, sea, and air targets. Includes more than a dozen models of combat drones that can be used to return to base. , according to the United States Institute of Peace’s (USIP) Iran Primer.
Domestic Iranian defense equipment and drones at the Defense Industry Exhibition in Tehran, Iran, August 23, 2023. (Fateme Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Large combat models such as the Shahed 149 can attack targets up to 1,200 miles away and carry up to 1,100 pounds of ammunition or electronics. Larger suicide variants, such as the Arash series, can carry just under 600 pounds of explosives and hit targets over 1,200 miles away.
Biden cuts short beach trip amid potential Iranian attack on Israel
Most combat drones have surveillance capabilities and can take photos and record videos to mark bombing targets.
USIP claimed that some of Iran’s drones are modeled on captured US drones, including the Predator, Reaper, Sentinel, ScanEagle 5, and Israel’s Hermes drone. In these cases, Iran is borrowing the shape of the vehicle, but not necessarily the hardware.
Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle Shahed 136 on display at Azadi (Freedom) Square in western Tehran, Iran, on February 11, 2024. (Morteza Nicobazul/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The most recently introduced model, the Mohajar 10, was unveiled in August 2023 and boasts both combat and intelligence capabilities, and could potentially reach Israel while carrying up to 660 pounds of explosives.
Iranian militia seizes Portuguese ship with ties to Israel as tensions rise
Many of the suicide drones reportedly launched by Iran toward Israel are slow and easy to shoot down with anti-aircraft guns or missiles. Israeli experts are therefore confident that the country’s famous Iron Dome system will be able to cope with the wave of drones that could arrive in the coming hours.
Missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on the side of a road in Tehran, Iran, February 11, 2024. (Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
But Iran could also launch some of its cruise missiles, the largest and most diverse arsenal in the Middle East, according to the Washington-based watchdog group Iran Watch.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Iran released a video of the Shahed drone in flight on February 24, 2023. (IRINN via AP)
Former CENTCOM General Kenneth McKenzie said in 2022 that Iran has more than 3,000 ballistic missiles in addition to cruise missiles, and that the country has “significantly improved missile accuracy and accuracy over the past decade,” “It’s becoming an increasingly powerful conventional threat.” . ”
Iran Watch has identified four types of cruise missiles in Tehran’s arsenal: Soumar, Khoveise, Ya Ali, and Paveh. The Pavé is the most recently announced model, introduced in 2023, and is capable of hitting targets over 1,000 miles away.
