3 days ago
Iran Shatters Myth of Israel's Invincible Iron Dome
While Israeli officials claim that 90% of Iranian missiles have been intercepted since June 13, reports indicate that Israel's defenses are being overwhelmed, with the long-touted Iron Dome reportedly close to depletion.
Citing an individual briefed on United States and Israeli intelligence assessments, The Washington Post revealed that Israel's missile defense can only hold for another 10-12 days without direct US resupply or escalation. 'They will need to select what they want to intercept,' said the anonymous expert. 'The system is already overwhelmed.'
Strained air defenses
Israel's air defense network is composed of multiple overlapping systems: the Iron Dome, David's Sling, the Arrow missile system, Spyder and Patriot batteries, and experimental laser technology currently under development. But this entire architecture is deeply dependent on US funding and munitions—especially the Iron Dome, to which the US has allocated over $3 billion since 2011.
Israeli media estimates that keeping the missile defense operational costs the occupation around $285 million per night. Tal Inbar, an Israeli missile expert affiliated with the US-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), noted that Israel is increasingly forced to rely on the Arrow system, which costs $3 million per interceptor, to confront Iran's more advanced projectiles.
The Iron Dome, Inbar added, is nearly useless against Iran's high-speed ballistic missiles—likening its deployment to 'shooting a 9-millimeter pistol' at hypersonic threats racing through the upper atmosphere.
He also pointed out that in 2014, Israel sought a ceasefire with Hamas just before it ran out of interceptors—a precedent that could influence Israel's current posture as its arsenal drains once again.
Israeli intelligence estimated that Iran had around 2,000 long-range missiles, claiming to have destroyed a significant portion through covert operations and unprovoked strikes on Friday. The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) allege that Iran has launched around 400 missiles so far and that Israeli operations have wiped out a third of Iran's missile launchers.
But despite a recent decrease in Iranian barrages, Israeli analysts warn that more than half of Iran's missile stockpile likely remains intact, with some of it concealed in underground silos– claims that should be approached with skepticism, given Israel's long record of fabricating intelligence to justify its indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks.
Israel's failure to intercept Iranian missiles has become more visible since it launched direct strikes on Iranian territory. On Friday, Iranian missiles pierced Israeli defenses and hit near the IOF's central command in Tel Aviv. On Sunday, another missile disabled a key oil refinery near Haifa. By Tuesday, footage showed multiple impacts around an intelligence hub north of Tel Aviv, with one missile reportedly striking inside the headquarters of IOF intelligence
Suppressing the impact
Israel has been censoring domestic coverage of the damage caused by Iranian missiles since at least October 2024, fueling speculation that the scale of destruction is far greater than officially admitted.
Under Israeli military law, any article related to 'security issues' must be reviewed by the military censor, leaving news outlets to decide what to submit—a system that has enabled deep opacity. According to +972 Magazine, Israel fully banned 1,635 articles in 2024 and censored another 6,265, averaging 21 military interventions into journalism per day.
As a result, much of the footage circulating from inside Israel—especially showing the aftermath of Iranian missile strikes—is believed to have been leaked via cyberattacks rather than released by state or media sources. Cyber threat intelligence firm Hackmanac reported that Israel was among the most heavily targeted countries for cyberattacks in the last week.
Days befores Israel's attacks on Iran, Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib told state TV that Iran holds a 'treasure trove' of Israeli sensitive documents that could strengthen Iran's offensive position.
Like the Iron Dome, which has been mythologized as invincible but is now faltering under real pressure, the cracks in Israel's combat and information control systems are becoming impossible to ignore. The Israeli regime, increasingly unable to defend its infrastructure or shape global narratives, now clings to existence through violent land theft in the West Bank and a rabid genocide on Gaza—an effort to hold on to its unravelling power and legitimacy.
