Iran’s failed attack on Israel ‘is pretty telling’ about Tehran’s capabilities, DOD says
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Monday that Iran’s failed attack on Israel over the weekend was "pretty telling" about Tehran’s weapons capabilities.
A reporter had asked Ryder what lessons the U.S. learned from the attack and what they said about the capabilities of Iran and those of the U.S.
Ryder said the U.S. had "learned a lot from this," but declined to go into specifics.
"I’m sure you can appreciate I’m not going to be in a position to do an after-action report from the podium today, other than to say it’s pretty telling that Iran launched over 300 air threats, and, as I highlighted, 99% of those were knocked down," he said. "So, it is demonstrative of that close coordination and synchronization between the United States and coalition partners when it comes to addressing air defense threats in the region."
Iran’s attack on Israel late Saturday involved hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. It included 110 medium range ballistic missiles, over 30 land attack cruise missiles, and more than 150 drones, per the Pentagon. Ryder said both land and sea aircraft were involved in the attack.
Only seven ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing minor damage to an air base. Israeli and U.S. forces shot down the rest with help from the British and the French.
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The attack was widely expected as Iran had been warning for days of retaliation after an airstrike on its Syrian consulate earlier this month killed a dozen people, including a top commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The attack marked the first time Iran had launched a direct military assault on