A former Israeli fighter pilot has claimed that as a result of Israel’s recent strikes on air defence systems used by the Islamic Republic, “every important figure in Iran is now at the mercy of the Israeli Air Force”.
Commenting on X about the implications of Israel’s attack, Naftali Hazony, who spent eight years in the IAF, said: “Israel has destroyed the last of Iran’s advanced S300 batteries. These long-range batteries could shoot down aircraft over 80 miles away.
“Iran is now forced to rely on dozens of medium-range defence systems, including the ‘Hordad’.”
The “Hordad” can shoot down aircraft over 50 miles away, he wrote, which means there is a 50-mile ‘safe-zone’ around a number of sensitive sites, such as government buildings.
But, says Hazony, “50 miles of defence is simply not enough” because Israel reportedly uses Boeing-developed SDBs (Small Diameter Bombs,) which spread their wings after being dropped and glide up to 70 miles before hitting their target. A single fighter jet can carry 16 SDBs, he added.
“Israel also recently unveiled aircraft-launched ballistic missiles that can strike at great distances. These are just part of Israel’s known arsenal of long-range munitions that can be dropped well outside the range of Iran’s ‘Hordad’,” he said.
Iran’s nuclear sites, however, are deep underground and out of the reach of long-range missiles, which deliver smaller payloads incapable of destroying these sites.
Large bunker-busting bombs can only be dropped closer to the sites themselves, Hazony said, so in order to carry out such an operation, the next target for the IAF would be the ‘Hordad’ systems themselves.
Hazony also indicated how Israeli jets may have used hostile Syrian and Iraqi airspace to attack Iran.
“Iran spent decades placing air defence batteries and radars in Iraq and Syria to serve as a first line of defence against an Israeli attack.”
To counter that, he said, “Israel’s 140+ fighter jets reportedly ….paved the way, destroying every Iranian obstacle to build a ‘highway’ to Tehran.”
Iran's supreme leader reportedly instructed the country's Supreme National Security Council to prepare for another assault on Israel, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
The report, which cited three Iranian officials, said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the decision on Monday after reviewing a report from senior military commanders on the extent of the damage caused by last week's Israeli strikes on Iran’s missile production capabilities and air defence systems, critical energy infrastructure and a main port.
Khamenei was said to have told his associates that the scope of Israel's unprecedented October 26 retaliatory strikes was "too large to ignore".
