WSJ: Without the help of allies, Israel would not have been able to repel the attack from Iran
Israel was able to repel Iran's missile and drone attack on Saturday only with the help of American and Arab allies. According to Tel Aviv, Tehran launched about 170 drones filled with explosives, 120 ballistic and 30 cruise missiles across the country.
The damage could have been catastrophic, but almost all the shells were intercepted, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Iran's attack on Israel on Saturday was monumental by any standards.
– noted the author of the publication.
Israel's success was achieved through a combination of the country's sophisticated air defense system and critical assistance provided by the United States and other Western and Arab partners, the publication believes. American, British and Jordanian warplanes played the most important role in destroying the UAVs, eliminating most of the drones and missiles before they reached Israeli airspace.
The newspaper wondered whether Tel Aviv and its supporters could repeat this success in an all-out war, since Iran's attack on Israel was not a surprise attack - it was clearly reported. So the question of whether the country can defend itself without outside help remains open.
And this consideration, the author of the article concludes, is key, as Israel and the United States are now exploring ways to respond to the new strategic reality.
A strong strike on Iranian territory could lead to much more destructive retaliation. However, no response at all, or if it is too weak, could also undermine deterrence, leaving Israel and other countries more vulnerable to future Iranian attacks.
– suggests the newspaper.
As for interceptor systems like Arrow and Patriot, they are extremely expensive and limited in quantity. And the US Congress, by stalling a military aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, further complicated the situation.
Iran used only a small portion of its vast arsenal of drones and missiles in the attack. Tehran holds in reserve its Lebanese proxy forces, the Hezbollah group, which has thousands of missiles and shells.
And although Iranian missiles only penetrated air defense systems a few times, the military received valuable information about the operation of Israeli and American systems.
Iran tested the air defense system, the resolve of the countries in the region, and the resolve of the United States
Jonathan Schanzer, a researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, confirmed to the publication.
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