Iran has used missiles and drones to strike most of its neighboring states in this conflict that has lasted for ten days. However, the extent of the destruction has so far been mitigated by the advanced defense systems of Israel, the USA, and their Arab partners in the region. The armed forces of the Iranian regime, heavily armed and applying a decentralized strategy designed several decades ago, seem to be in a race to preserve their remaining offensive weapons.
“The biggest surprise is that Iran has not chosen or has not managed to overwhelm the air defense of the Arab Gulf states in major impactful ways”, stated Ryan Bohl, senior analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at the risk analysis company RANE.
According to Bohl, Iran has preferred to “scatter its strikes” or focus on the United Arab Emirates, which “manage the attacks as efficiently as the Israelis”.
A central test remains whether the Iranian armed forces, which seem to operate with minimal centralized command and control, can keep the drones and missiles that the USA and Israel are trying to destroy.
The large-scale aerial campaign, which began on February 28, has seriously affected the Iranian arsenal. General Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, highlighted that, less than a week since the start of the conflict, missile attacks have decreased by over 80%, signaling a systematic and strategic weakening of Iran’s offensive capabilities. Also, the Israeli military announced that 75% of Iranian missile launchers have been destroyed.
So far, it is difficult to determine whether Tehran’s choice of weapons is dictated by strategy or their survival in the face of American-Israeli strikes. Iranian state media claims that, until March 5, Iran has launched 500 ballistic and cruise missiles and 2,000 drones.
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