Iran emerged from the shadows…and shuffled the region’s cards

The unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel brought the sponsor of proxy wars in the region from the shadows into direct confrontation, in what was described as the beginning of a phase governed by “new rules of engagement” imposed by the land-for-land equation, given that Israel’s targeting of the Iranian consulate in Damascus is considered, according to international norms, to be targeting Iranian territory.

The attack, which mixed up the geopolitical cards in the region and drew new red lines, revealed, according to experts, Israel’s limited self-sufficiency regarding security issues, as repelling it required relying heavily on American intelligence to determine the timing of the attack, and the locations of missile launchers and drones.

Israel also needed help from at least four countries to thwart more than 90 percent of the attack. Which lasted about 5 hours.

This raises an open question about Israel’s ability to defend itself without external assistance, in light of any sudden, unannounced operation, such as this attack.

Strategically, the design of the Iranian strike in many ways replicated some of Russia’s largest attacks in Ukraine.

First, by sending a swarm of slow-moving “Shahed” drones to overcome air defenses, locate air defense batteries, then cruise missiles, and then launch a number of faster ballistic missiles, which are difficult to intercept.

Military experts say that this method helped the Iranian army collect valuable intelligence information about how Israeli and American air defenses work.

At the same time, about 50 percent of Iranian ballistic missiles failed to launch or crashed before reaching their target, which raises serious questions about Iran’s missile capabilities. (Sky News Arabia)