File image.
A senior representative of the Israeli military told lawmakers during a closed meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Iran was able to resume large-scale production of ballistic missiles roughly six months after the 12-day war with Israel, Ynet reported on December 8.
The representative said during the briefing, which was described by several participants to the Israeli news website, that Iran is rapidly restoring its missile manufacturing capacity after suffering heavy damage during the war.
They also warned that Iran’s missile program is “recovering at a fast pace” and remains a top strategic priority for military planners in the Islamic Republic.
The warning came amid large naval drills by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Persian Gulf, involving ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
Iranian state media said that missiles struck mock targets in the Gulf of Oman “with high accuracy,” and that drones hit simulated “enemy bases.” It also claimed that Iranian vessels also issued warnings to nearby U.S. ships on the drill’s first day.
On December 6, the second and last day of the drills, the commander of the IRGC Navy announced that a new missile with a range exceeding the length of the Persian Gulf had been tested.
“The Persian Gulf is 1,375 kilometers long – this missile’s range is beyond that,” Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said in an interview with state television. He added that the weapon, built by the IRGC Navy, is fully indigenous and “can be guided after launch.”
Tangsiri noted all weapons used in the drill were domestically made, including a new ballistic missile with “very high precision.”
“Our enemies have seen its accuracy,” he said.
Ynet’s report was not surprising. Last October, a report by CNN revealed that Iran was able to ramp up efforts to rebuild its missile program despite the reimposition of international sanctions. The report said that the Islamic Republic received several shipments of sodium perchlorate, a key chemical used in producing solid rocket fuel, from China.
Iran has so far limited the range of its missile to 2,000, more than enough to cover all of Israel. However, rumors that emerged after the end of the war suggested that the Islamic Republic was on its way to test an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range exceeding 10,000 kilometers.
The missile program has always been a point of disagreement between Iran and the U.S., which wanted to set restrictions on it even before the doomed nuclear deal of 2015.
While Israel started its war on the Islamic Republic under the guise of attacking nuclear facilities, many of the targets hit later on were related to the missile program.
The Israeli military estimated that some two-thirds of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers, around 250, were destroyed during the war, along with around 1,000 of the missiles. Still, the military acknowledged that the Islamic Republic managed to launch more than 500 ballistic missiles at targets all over Israel.
A total of 36 missile impacts in populated areas across Israel were reported. Later it was revealed that the real number of impacts was higher, and that the effectiveness of Israel’s air defense network had been seriously degraded towards the end of the war.
Iranian missile attacks on Israel claimed the lives of 28 people, all but one of them civilians, and wounded more than 3,000 others.
The missile program remains one of the most prized strategic assets of Iran. Although the Islamic Republic has not yet shown interest in expanding the range of its missiles, it has refused to engage in any talks on the program. With the Iranian nuclear program largely out of the picture, the missiles could become the pretext for Israel’s next war.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
those missiles were always the reason for attacking iran. only dimwits would believe that they were over a non-existent bomb. it’s the same reason they dumped the jcpoa, because iran would not negotiate on their missiles. so, they use a non-existent weapon as an excuse to attack their missile systems, while they make a useless attack on nuclear research. yes, iranian nukes, wink, wink, nod, nod. an iranian hypersonic icbm would definitely scare dc.
no missile can solve the fact that israel has jordan and syria. iran was safe when iran had lebanon and syria. therefore, the iranians should be apologize to the ukrainians for selling drones to russia and for shooting down a ukrainian plane, and ask them nicely to have the ukrainians kill the traitor maher al-assad in moscow.
given the danger iran is in now…the israelis will get back the confiscated temple and school. https://www.syriahr.com/en/374714/
why didn’t hafez assad appoint his daughter, who had good relations with hezbollah, as head of state, and hafez al assad kill his corrupt sons and throw them into the abyss?
not hts and not isis, only a decent christian polish or an honest protestant british female commandant would be a suitable judge for these traitors.
fat traitorous thief maher al-assad deserves to be caught by nato’s hand in moscow and he deserves to be tried by polish soldiers and their female commander for taking a bribe and betraying syria.