On the evening of Friday, June 13, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a massive missile and drone assault on Israeli targets in retaliation for earlier Israeli airstrikes that struck Tehran and several Iranian cities, killing dozens, including top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
According to Iranian state media, this marked the start of a “crushing Iranian response”, involving hundreds of ballistic missiles fired deep into the occupied territories. The Israeli regime immediately ordered its citizens into bomb shelters as sirens wailed across Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other major cities.
By Saturday morning, Israeli emergency services confirmed three deaths and 172 injuries as a result of the Iranian barrage. Channel 13 reported “unprecedented destruction” in greater Tel Aviv, raising serious questions:
How did Iran bypass Israel’s multi-layered air defences and inflict such damage deep inside the Zionist entity?
Iran’s Strike Capability: A Ballistic Arsenal Refined by Decades
The backbone of Iran’s attack was its ballistic missile arsenal, which follows a high-arching flight path—rising into the upper atmosphere before descending at hypersonic speed onto its target.
This trajectory, coupled with high velocity and range flexibility, makes ballistic missiles a favoured weapon for states like Iran seeking fast, hard-to-intercept strike options. Iran’s missile range spans from short-range (under 1,000 km) to intercontinental levels exceeding 11,000 km.
Over the past decade, Iran has made major strides in missile precision and survivability. Systems like the Fateh-313 and Qiam-1 use advanced inertial navigation, satellite guidance, and terminal-phase targeting, enabling pinpoint accuracy even at extended ranges.
Moreover, Iran has shifted towards solid-fuel technology, which provides:
- Faster launch readiness
- Greater transportability
- Higher stability for long-range deployment
This evolution enables rapid-response capability—ideal for surprise retaliatory strikes.
Tactical Saturation: Overwhelming Iron Dome and Multi-Tiered Defence
Precision alone doesn’t defeat a system like Israel’s layered air defence, which includes the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow 2/3, and the U.S.-backed THAAD system.
Instead, Iran employed a tactic of strategic saturation—firing synchronized waves of ballistic missiles and drones to overwhelm and exhaust Israeli defences.
No matter how advanced an air defence system is, it has a capacity ceiling. Once that limit is breached, missiles start slipping through.
This approach was visible not only in the recent strike but also in Iran’s “True Promise 2” operation in October 2024, and resembles the resistance tactics of Gaza in launching rocket barrages.
Each Iron Dome battery holds around 60 interceptors, with an estimated 10 active batteries across the entity, capping total defensive firepower. A coordinated barrage of hundreds of short-range missiles within a brief window can deplete these interceptors, leaving Israel’s cities exposed.
Furthermore, Iran deployed drones alongside missiles—forcing Israeli systems to split targeting priorities, reducing effectiveness and guaranteeing higher hit rates.
Even David’s Sling, Arrow-2, Arrow-3, and THAAD are susceptible to saturation when multiple missile classes are used simultaneously. Israeli generals have long feared a scenario involving 3,000 projectiles per day—well beyond their systems’ daily interception capacity.
Systemic Weakness: The Illusion of Interception
Despite its reputation, the Iron Dome’s effectiveness has been questioned. MIT expert Theodore Postol estimated it intercepts fewer than 10% of incoming missiles—due to proximity detonation that doesn’t neutralise warheads.
Former Raytheon warhead engineer Richard Lloyd, retired Israeli pilot Reuven Pedatzur, and award-winning defence engineer Mordechai Shefer have all placed the true effectiveness of Israeli air defence at between 5% and 40%.
Iran’s “Triple Threat” Strategy
Iran’s capability to inflict real damage on Israel despite a technological imbalance is now proven. Nuclear physicist Peter Zimmerman once argued that “bronze-level” military technology—when adapted smartly—is more than sufficient for deterrence and impact.
Iran’s military doctrine includes:
- Ballistic Missiles
- Combat Drones
- Land-Launched Cruise Missiles
The success of Shahed-136 drones—infamously used in Ukraine—proves Iran’s drone program has reached global influence. Swarms of varying-range drones conduct:
- Direct strikes
- Loitering reconnaissance
- Radar hunting
Additionally, Iran’s stealth cruise missiles like Soumar (700–3,000 km) and Hoveyzeh (1,350 km) fly at low altitudes, evading radar detection and exploiting gaps in missile defence geometry.
Joint Fire Doctrine: Multi-Platform Integration
Iran’s forces appear to use a joint warfare strategy, combining:
- Drones to neutralize radars
- Ballistics for blunt impact
- Cruise missiles for stealth precision
In such an assault:
- Air defences focus on drones
- Ballistic and cruise strikes exploit the confusion
- Some drones loiter, waiting for opportune targets or identified vulnerabilities
This multi-directional, time-staggered strike method creates layered chaos, leaving defences overwhelmed.
The Hypersonic Frontier: “Fattah” and the Next Level
In November 2022, Iran unveiled its first hypersonic missile, and by June 2023, officially launched “Fattah”, boasting:
- A range of 1,400 km
- Speed exceeding Mach 5
- Glide vehicle manoeuvrability
Such missiles are nearly impossible to intercept due to:
- Rapid reentry
- Directional changes
- Short warning times
With less than a few seconds between radar detection and impact, even the best systems cannot respond in time—especially when launched in tandem with drones and cruise missiles.
A New Era of Confrontation
This is no longer a shadow war. For decades, Israel fought non-state actors with limited range and resources. But today, it faces a sovereign state with a massive arsenal, capable of executing combined arms warfare.
The military balance may favour Israel on paper, but the reality on the battlefield is changing. The Islamic Republic of Iran has demonstrated that it can penetrate the myth of invincibility surrounding Israeli defence—and ushered in a new, more dangerous phase of the regional conflict.
This work demands time, pressure, and sacrifice.
But we do it—for the Ummah, and for the truth.
If you believe in this mission, stand with us.
