Burnt vehicles are seen at the scene where a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip hit, in Holon, Israel May 11, 2021.  (photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)

The massive rocket barrage – involving some 600 rockets from Gaza in a 24-hour period, reaching the crescendo of hundreds of rockets fired around nine in the evening, blanketing central and southern Israel – may be linked to Iran’s warnings about a single, large operation.

Iran’s IRGC head Hossein Salami warned last week that Israel was vulnerable to one large tactical operation because the country is so small. He pointed to the S-200 fired from Syria near Dimona and other threats to Israel as an example of how vulnerable the country is.

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While Iran’s political and military leaders are not exactly known for making measured, reserved or unprovocative remarks, stating that “Israel could be blown up in a single operation,” would be considered an aggressive comment even for Iranians.

At the same time, Iranian national documents and philosophies do specifically call for the destruction of Israel. Thus, these comments from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami align with the kind of well-known, consistent anti-Israel rhetoric coming from Iran.

Hossein’s comments were also filled with hints and suggestions that his forces may have been behind a recent explosion at an Israeli plant for advanced weapons, according to a news report from Al-Monitor. Israel, the report specifies, said the blast hurt no one and took place during a “routine test.”

Hossein, made many references to Israel’s supposed “vulnerabilities” to “domino-style” attacks, according to the report. While easily dismissed as hyperbole in many respects, Hossein’s remarks as quoted by the report introduce a few interesting things to consider.  For instance, Israeli is without question very experienced when it comes to the realm of missile defense given its recent history, as it deploys systems such as Iron Dome and other kinds of ground-based systems. This reality might seem to make Israeli less vulnerable to Iran’s large arsenal of ballistic missiles, some of which potentially able to reach Israel should they be maneuvered within range. Israel is about one thousand miles from Iran, a range which is just at the outer limits of the striking distance of most long-range ballistic missiles.

The distance between the two countries speaks to another, even potentially more pressing issue, such as how Iran could actually get close enough to the Israeli border to launch an attack. Iranian ground forces would need to travel through Iraq or Turkey, or somehow cross the Persian Gulf area to deploy on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. Any approaching Iranian force would, it goes without saying, be highly vulnerable to Israeli air attack. Therefore, apart from the concerning prospect of Iran at some point having nuclear weapons, there do not appear to be a wide sphere of ways Iran might actually be able to attack Israel with any measure of success.

Unless, of course, Iran were to employ terrorist tactics, something by no means beyond the realm of possibility. In fact, small, covert hit-and-run types of terror attacks may be the kind of thing Hossein was referring to by hinting that several targeted strikes could bring down Israel. Added to this equation is the well-known fact that Iran has been, and likely continues to be, a state sponsor of terrorist organizations.  However, just as is likely the case with air defenses, Israel is certainly experienced and likely adept at counterterrorism tactics for obvious reasons.

Kris Osborn is the defense editor for the National Interest. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a master’s degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.

Source: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/iran-getting-ready-attack-israel-184907

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The new facility was built on the Persian Gulf, a hotly contested maritime region that plays a key role in global oil exports

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) published photos of a new underground missile base on the coast of the Persian Gulf on Friday, amid increasing tensions between the Islamic Republic and the US.

“The base is one of several bases housing the Guards’ Navy’s strategic missiles,” state media quoted IRGC Chief Commander Hossein Salami, regarding the base located somewhere in the province of Hormozgan.

“Our logic in defending the territorial integrity, the independence of the country, and the achievements of the Islamic Revolution is strengthening,” Salami said, according to the national newspaper Mehr News.

Strengthened defensive capabilities

The commander also boasted that the new Naval Missile Facility held long-range missiles with pin-point precision and “huge destructive power.”

Salami claimed that the base would strengthen Iran’s defensive capabilities, especially against “the enemy’s electronic warfare equipment.”

Rising tensions between the Islamic Republic and the US came to a head-on Monday when Revolutionary Guards seized a South Korean tanker in the straits of Hormuz.

The relations between the two sides were put under extra strain after President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed heavy sanctions on the country.

Open hostilities almost broke out in January 2020 after the assassination of Iran’s top general Qassim Soleimani by a US drone strike in Iraq.

Top Iranian lawmakers have shown a willingness to return to negotiations with President-elect Joe Biden, however, the country’s powerful conservative establishment has continued to stoke the flames with a promise to ramp up uranium enrichment.

A warning to Iran’s enemies

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also spoke on Friday in a live television broadcast praising the country’s defensive capabilities.

He claimed that with the ability to shoot down drones and hit the US  Ain al-Assad air force base in Iraq — in response to Soleimani’s death — the country’s foes would have to take into account Iran’s ability to militarily defend itself.

The Persian Gulf has been a repeated zone of conflict between the US and the Islamic Republic

The IRGC said last year that they had built underground “missile cities” along the Gulf coastline, warning of a “nightmare for Iran’s enemies.”

Salami praised the developments of Iran’s defense systems highlighting the “great progress at the level of target intelligence systems, search systems, as well as missile radar systems.”

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/iran-reveals-new-missile-base-on-the-persian-gulf/a-56170071

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Khamenei said the U.S. should leave the region, adding “Military action like this is not sufficient. What is important is ending the corrupting presence of America in the region,” Reuters reported.

Iran fired as many as 15 ballistic missiles into Iraq Wednesday, officials said, in a major retaliation by the rogue regime after the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week.

Ten missiles hit Al-Assad Air Base, one missile hit a military base in Erbil and four missiles failed to hit their targets, according to a U.S. military spokesman for Central Command, responsible for American forces in the Middle East. The attacks unfolded in two waves, each about an hour apart.

Initial assessments showed “no U.S. casualties,” a U.S. military official in Baghdad told Fox News.

Iranian state television later claimed – without evidence – that the strikes killed “at least 80 terrorist U.S soldiers” and damaged helicopters, and drones at the Ain al-Asad airbase.

President Trump tweeted a response late Tuesday evening: “All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well-equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.”

The White House previously said he would not make an address to the nation Tuesday.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said right after the attack: “We are aware of the reports of attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq. The president has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team.” It was not immediately clear how the U.S. may respond.

The Pentagon added: “In recent days and in response to Iranian threats and actions, the Department of Defense has taken all appropriate measures to safeguard our personnel and partners. These bases have been on high alert due to indications that the Iranian regime planned to attack our forces and interests in the region. As we evaluate the situation and our response, we will take all necessary measures to protect and defend U.S. personnel, partners, and allies in the region.”

Meantime, Iran state TV claimed Tehran launched “tens” of surface-to-surface missiles at the Al Assad Air Base. State TV described it as Tehran’s revenge operation over the killing of Soleimani.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard then warned the U.S. and its regional allies against retaliating over the missile attack in Iraq.

The Guard issued the warning via a statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency: “We are warning all American allies, who gave their bases to its terrorist army, that any territory that is the starting point of aggressive acts against Iran will be targeted.” The Guard in the warning also threatened Israel.

The latest U.S. intelligence assessment showed Iran had more than 2,000 ballistic missiles, Pentagon officials told Fox News.

The USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier strike group has been in the Gulf of Oman along with guided-missile destroyers, a guided-missile cruiser and at least one submarine. The Navy warships and submarine together had hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles with pre-planned targets locked into the missiles.

The ships would be ready to fire if given the order, two senior Pentagon officials told Fox News.

MEGHAN MCCAIN CONFRONTS WARREN ON SOLEIMANI: WHY IS IT SO HARD TO CALL HIM A TERRORIST?

The attack came days after Soleimani was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad’s airport. A senior Iraqi commander of an Iran-backed militia also was killed.

The U.S. blamed Soleimani for the killing of hundreds of American troops, and said he was plotting new attacks just before his death.

Iranian officials and President Trump have traded threats since Soleimani’s death, and more U.S. troops have been deployed to the region amid heightened tensions.

Iran-backed militias in Iraq, known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), have threatened revenge on American interests and personnel for the killings.

On Sunday, Iraqi lawmakers approved a resolution to expel U.S. forces from the country. The resolution comes nearly five years after the government requested U.S. troops be deployed to Iraq after the Islamic State overtook vast swaths of the country.

The terror group has since been defeated, Abdul-Mahdi said, adding the mission has now evolved into a U.S.-Iran proxy war.

As the crowds mourned Soleimani, more angry calls rose from Iran to avenge his death, drastically raising tensions.

Hossein Salami, Soleimani’s successor as leader of the Revolutionary Guard, addressed a crowd of supporters gathered at the coffin in a central square in Kernan. He vowed to avenge Soleimani.

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“We tell our enemies that we will retaliate but if they take another action we will set ablaze the places that they like and are passionate about,” Salami said.

A procession in Tehran on Monday drew more than 1 million people in the Iranian capital, crowding both main avenues and side streets in Tehran.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, John Roberts, Lucas Tomlinson, Brie Stimson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/missile-attacks-target-us-forces-in-iraq-senior-military-source-says-iran-suspected

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