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Middle East conflict

Israel claims to have destroyed all of Iran's strategic defenses

The Israeli military believes that "Iran has lost its strategic capability regarding surface-to-air missiles for the next two to three years"

TEL AVIV, October 28. /TASS/. Israel's strikes on Iran on October 26 reportedly destroyed all of the country's strategic defenses, according to the Galei Tzahal Israeli army radio station.

"The attack eliminated all of Iran's strategic defenses, specifically all long-range missile batteries. Iran possessed two types of such missiles: the Russian-made S-300 system and a domestically manufactured advanced system. In fact, Iran is now left with only two domestically produced short-range air defense batteries," the radio station claimed, citing Israeli military sources.

According to these assessments, the primary damage occurred to defense systems in Tehran and western Iran. The Israeli military believes that "Iran has lost its strategic capability regarding surface-to-air missiles for the next two to three years," as it cannot promptly acquire replacements or quickly produce similar systems domestically.

The radio station also reported damage to Iran's missile production capacity. Currently, Iran is believed to have 2,000 long-range ballistic missiles, but it will allegedly have to conserve its stockpiles since it will be unable to replenish them in the near future—possibly for months or even years. However, Iran's drone production facilities reportedly remained unharmed during the strikes.

The Israeli military is now preparing for a potential Iranian response. According to Galei Tzahal, "the Americans are expected to play a more significant role in defensive operations and missile interceptions." This expectation follows the deployment of US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems to Israel and the positioning of three US Navy ships equipped with the Aegis anti-missile system.

On October 26, the Israeli army announced strikes on military facilities in Iran in response to "continuous attacks." According to the Iranian Air Defense Force, military sites in the provinces of Ilam, Tehran, and Khuzestan were targeted, though only limited damage was reported. The chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Herzi Halevi, stated that Israel had utilized only a portion of its military capacity to target Iran's strategic systems.

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