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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Breitbart reporting - Israel Strikes Iran Near Nuclear Sites
2024-04-19
See also here.
[Breitbart] Reports emerged early Friday morning local time that Israel had attacked several Iranian sites — including targets near the suspected locations of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Israel’s Army Radio reported at 5:00 a.m. local time that ABC News had identified Israeli strikes near the town of Isfahan, Iran, as well as in locations in Syria and Iraq.

The Times of Israel reported:
Iran’s Fars news agency says that explosions have been heard near the airport at the country’s central Isfahan city, but the reason is unknown.

"The cause of these sounds is still unknown, and investigations continue until the exact details of the incident are determined," the semi-official Fars news agency says.

Several Iranian nuclear sites are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, centerpiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

Speculation mounted on social media that the Syrian and Iraqi targets were linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the external terrorist wing of the Iranian military.

The Israeli strikes apparently came in response to a massive Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend. Though the attack was largely intercepted by Israeli and allied air defenses, it marked the first such direct attack by Iran against Israel from Iranian territory.

Israel had promised that if any attack originated from within Iran, Israel would respond with attacks inside Iran.

Israel has also long considered a strike against Iran’s nuclear program, with or without the support of the United States.

The Iranian regime is not thought to have significant air defenses. Dr. Shay Har-Zvi of the Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS) at Reichman University told Breitbart News on Thursday during a press briefing that Iran’s air defenses, which had been supplied from Russia, did not yet include the latest generation, the S-400.

He agreed that Russian-Iranian cooperation might lend urgency to an Israeli response to Iran, because Israel knew it would have a limited window in which to strike back before Russia supplied more advanced air defense systems to Iran. He added that Russia was unlikely to be willing to become directly in a confrontation between Iran and Israel.
Posted by:Besoeker

#11  To be fair, one does have to be explicit about such things for me to pick up on it, my dear, unlike the more subtle examples of humanity to be found round these parts. ;-)

Pray God you’re right about this only being Israel’s first act — I’m really tired of both Iran’s and the Biden administration’s various forms of nonsense. And thank God that he returned Bibi Netanyahu to the PM seat — can you imagine if any of those others were trying to manage the Israeli left in concert with Joe Biden’s team under the circumstances?
Posted by: trailing wife   2024-04-19 22:27  

#10  Thanks for the deets and the reference, tw. I probably should have put a snark tag on the eBay reference since I was otherwise trying to be serious. I do believe this was only the opening act of the Israeli response with more to come later. No sense spoiling Passover.
Posted by: SteveS   2024-04-19 22:05  

#9   Syrian AD which I assume was Russian stuff they bought on eBay.

As I recall, SteveS, Russian S-200s and S-300s purchased from and installed by Russia, after which Russia trained the Syrian technicians to use them. There’s also an article from 2020 in the archives about an S-400 in Syria managed by Russian technicians (see here).
Posted by: trailing wife   2024-04-19 19:39  

#8  and that Iran's Russian-made air defense system proved ineffective.

A couple thoughts...

Air Defense is not a magic amulet. Not all air defense systems are equally capable. We've seen examples in Syria where the IDF had no problem dealing Syrian AD which I assume was Russian stuff they bought on eBay. In addition, it matters what the attackers bring to the table both in terms of attacking platforms and countermeasures. An AD system capable of exo-atmospheric ballistic missile kills can be useless against nap-of-the-earth cruise missiles or low-and-slow drones. Terrain is also important.

I have not done a deep dive into what was hit and what was used for the attacks. Personally, I was hoping for a earth-shattering KABOOM!, but this seems a bit of a laid back response to the big Iranian strike. Pure speculation, but perhaps this was merely a probe to see where the AD systems were deployed, what frequencies they were running on, to look for gaps in coverage, etc. If you are going to kick someone in the nuts, it doesn't hurt to throw a jab or two at their face first just to get things moving.
Posted by: SteveS   2024-04-19 17:52  

#7  "Do what we want when we want" is always a good message.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2024-04-19 17:21  

#6   and that Iran's Russian-made air defense system proved ineffective.



Ooooooooooooohhhhhhhh…

But Iran needn’t worry any more than Hamas on 10/7 — they are, after all, Allah’s beloveds, and he protects those he will, right?
Posted by: trailing wife   2024-04-19 17:03  

#5  According to Fox News, citing the sources, "the Israelis hit what they intended to strike," indicating that a single primary target was struck multiple times and that Iran's Russian-made air defense system proved ineffective.
Posted by: Grom the Reflective   2024-04-19 16:25  

#4  Israeli sources to Post: 'An eye for an eye'; not clear why Pentagon leaked info on attack
Posted by: Skidmark   2024-04-19 06:27  

#3  Israel strikes Iran, Regime downplays damage from the attack
Posted by: Skidmark   2024-04-19 05:17  

#2  Israel strikes site in Iran in retaliation for weekend assault: source
Posted by: Skidmark   2024-04-19 05:15  

#1  Israel strikes back at Iran: Explosions rock airbase in city linked to Tehran’s nuke program as US denies nuclear facilities were targeted after Netanyahu launched attack in defiance of Biden
Posted by: Skidmark   2024-04-19 05:14  

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