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Reuters
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Israel's airstrikes aim to break foundations of Khamenei's rule in Iran
Dubai, June 19 (Reuters) - Israel's sweeping campaign of airstrikes aims to do more than destroy Iran's nuclear centrifuges and missile capabilities. It seeks to shatter the foundations of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's government and leave it near collapse, Israeli, Western and regional officials said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region, the sources said. He also wants to leave Khamenei's government debilitated. The campaign is about "exhausting the regime's ability to project power and maintain internal cohesion," one senior regional official said. Iran's Islamic government faces an existential crisis unlike anything since the 1979 Revolution - not even the brutal 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war posed such a direct threat to clerical rule. Israel, the Middle East's most advanced military, can strike anywhere in Iran with drones and advanced F-35 fighter jets, assassinations by Mossad operatives, and cyberwarfare technology. In recent days, Israel has broadened its targets to include government institutions like the police and state television headquarters in Tehran. Netanyahu's government is planning for at least two weeks of intense airstrikes, according to four government and diplomatic sources, though the pace depends on how long it takes to eliminate Iran's missile stockpiles and launch capacity. Dennis Ross, a former Middle East envoy and advisor to several U.S. administrations, believes Iran is feeling the pressure and may be inching toward the negotiating table after the strikes eliminated much of Khamenei's inner circle, damaged nuclear infrastructure and missile sites, and killed top security figures. "I do think the regime feels vulnerable," said Ross, now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. While he insisted Israel's primary aim is to cripple Iran's nuclear and missile programs, Ross conceded that if the regime were to fall as a consequence, "Israel wouldn't be sorry." Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's belligerent tone in recent days, he would likely accept if Tehran can offer a credible path to a deal, Ross said. But, after Tehran offered no concessions during six previous rounds of nuclear negotiations with the U.S., Washington will need firm assurances from Iran that its goals, including the permanent abandonment of enrichment, will be met before it will support a ceasefire. "I think the cost to them is going to be high,' he said. For Iran, there is one key calculation: letting the 86-year-old Khamenei retreat without humiliation, two Iranian sources said. Strip him of dignity or the prospect of survival and he may choose all-out conflict, they added. After Trump demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" on social media on Tuesday, Khamenei promised in a televised speech that any U.S. military intervention in Iran would be met with "irreparable damage". In recent days, Netanyahu has also overtly raised the prospect of regime change, promising Iranians "the day of liberation is coming". Regional governments are fearful the situation could spiral out of control, pushing Iran - an ethnically diverse nation of 90 million people that straddles the Middle East and Asia - into chaos or unleashing a conflict that could spill across its borders. "You can't reshape the region through belligerent force," said Anwar Gargash, advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates. "You might resolve some issues, but it will create others." Iran's decades-old playbook - waging war from the shadows via its proxies - collapsed under an Israeli offensive following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Its regional Axis of Resistance crumbled, with Hamas crushed in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon defeated, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ousted by rebels, and the Houthi militia in Yemen on the defensive. Russia and China - seen as allies of Tehran – have remained on the sidelines, leaving Iran isolated in the face of Western powers determined to end its regional influence and nuclear ambitions. "Iran isn't just facing Israel," said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute, based in Washington D.C. "It's facing off the United States and European powers." And while Sunni Arab Gulf states have publicly condemned Israel's strikes, privately leaders in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi – longtime U.S. allies - may welcome a weakening of their Shi'ite rival, whose proxies have targeted vital Gulf infrastructure, including oil facilities, analysts say. Militarily, Tehran has few options. Israel controls the skies over Iran, having largely destroyed its air defences. Much of Iran's stockpile of ballistic weapons is believed to have been damaged by Israeli strikes, and 400-or-so it has fired have mostly been destroyed by Israel's multi-layered aerial defence system. "When the missiles run out, what's left?," asks Vatanka. But with the Iranian opposition fragmented and no signs of divisions within the powerful Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), which has nearly 250,000 fighters including its Basij militia volunteers, there is scant prospect Iran's ruling elite will collapse easily. There have been no major protests on the streets of Tehran, and many Iranians profess anger towards Israel for the attacks. Without a ground invasion or domestic uprising, regime change in Iran is a distant prospect, the officials said. On Tuesday, Trump issued a veiled threat to Khamenei, declaring that U.S. intelligence knows his location and had no intention to kill him "for now". Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September plunged the Lebanese group into disarray but regional officials and observers warned that killing the ageing Khamenei would not have the same impact. "Real power now resides with his son, Mojtaba, and the IRGC, which is deeply embedded despite the loss of key commanders," one regional source said. "They remain the regime's spine." Killing Khamenei, a religious leader to millions of Shi'ites, could cause a major backlash. Jonathan Panikoff, a former deputy U.S. national intelligence officer on the Middle East during Trump's first term, said that if the Israeli campaign does foment regime change in Iran, it could result – at least initially – in a more hardline administration. "What is likely to follow a theocratic Iranian government is not democracy but Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–istan," said Panikoff, now at the Atlantic Council think-tank. "Israel might find itself in a perpetual, ongoing, and far more intense war that is no longer in the shadows." The next move belongs to Trump, Ross said, who must decide whether to intervene militarily to try to force Iran's hand. Israeli officials acknowledge that to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities – which are hidden in secure locations deep underground like the fortified Fordow site outside Tehran – it would need the U.S. to provide its largest bunker-busting bombs. On the other hand, if Trump declares a ceasefire linked to a nuclear deal with Iran, Netanyahu will not protest provided he can credibly claim that Tehran's threat to Israel has been fundamentally rolled back. In recent days, Trump has hardened his tone towards Iran, making veiled military threats while leaving open the possibility of negotiations. "No-one knows what I'm going to do," he told reporters on Wednesday, adding that Iranian officials had reached out about negotiations. "It's a little late." The message to Iran is clear, Ross said: start serious talks soon, or face a military situation far worse than today's. The White House referred Reuters to Trump's latest remarks and declined further comment for this story. In an effort to restart negotiations, the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi on Friday in Geneva. Mark Dubowitz, chief executive at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington, said he believed Trump ultimately wanted a diplomatic solution but he was likely to allow Israel more time to pursue its military campaign to give the U.S. more leverage at the negotiating table. Dubowitz, an Iran expert who has been consulted by the Trump administration on its policy, said Israel's main objective appears to be setting back Iran's nuclear program as many years as possible. Central to that is removing its human capacity by killing nuclear and weapons scientists, and Dubowitz said his team had identified 10 to 12 more who are likely being hunted by Israel. Meanwhile, Israel's opposition parties – and the public – have rallied behind Netanyahu, giving him leeway to pursue the difficult operation, despite Iranian missiles hitting Israeli soil. Israel is operating 1,500–2,000 km from home, with complex and costly logistical needs. "This is math," said one Israeli source. "How many missiles they launch. How many we destroy. How long we can keep going." The Israeli strikes have already killed key members of the so-called "weaponisation group" - those Israel alleges are tasked with turning enriched uranium into an actual bomb – and eroded Iran's ability to produce long-range missiles. That, Israeli leaders argue, creates the conditions for a U.S.-Iran agreement that addresses Israel's red lines. Yuli Edelstein, head of the Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, and a prominent member of the ruling Likud party, told Reuters that if Washington and key European powers engage diplomatically, apply pressure, and shape a clear exit plan, "they can prevent unnecessary developments in this war." If the conflict does escalate, regional officials fear a collapse of Khamenei's government would not lead to democracy but to fragmentation - or worse: a civil war, fuelled by Iran's marginalized minorities - Arabs, Kurds, Azeris, Baha'is, Baluchis and Christians - could erupt in a dangerous power vacuum. "And that," a Gulf source warned, "no one is ready for." The UAE foreign ministry directed Reuters to its statements condemning Israel's strikes against Iran. Saudi Arabia's and Qatar government media office did not respond to a request for comment. French President Emmanuel Macron echoed that warning at this week's G7 leaders summit, saying forced regime change in Iran would bring chaos. He cited the failures of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the 2011 NATO-backed intervention in Libya as cautionary examples. Vatanka, of the Middle East Institute, warned that shockwaves from the collapse of the government in Tehran would not stop at Iran's borders. "A destabilized Iran," he added, "could ignite unrest from Azerbaijan to Pakistan. Its collapse would reverberate across the region, destabilizing fragile states and reigniting dormant conflicts."
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
First Ukraine, Now Israel: Drone smuggling is potent new war weapon
Small, difficult to detect and able to pack a powerful punch, attack drones have become a formidable weapon in modern warfare . But when launched from deep inside enemy territory -- as in Iran and in Russia this month -- their impact is all the more devastating. The surprise factor of having to fend off drones attacking from within combines a classic military strategy with modern technology. Spy craft and covert operations have long been a part of combat, but using them to build or deploy deadly drones behind enemy lines is a new tactic in the ever-evolving art of war, officials and weapons experts said. That was the case two weeks ago, when more than 40 Russian war planes were hit by a swarm of 117 drones that Ukraine had secretly planted near military bases in Russia months earlier. Some were thousands of miles from Ukraine. It was also the case in Iran, which lost missiles, interceptors and air defense systems that were destroyed Friday by drones and other weapons that Israeli intelligence operatives had smuggled in earlier. Many details about the secretive operations and how they were carried out remain murky to protect methods of intelligence collection and sources of covert information. Live Events But Israel's approach gave it an edge in its wide-ranging attack against Iran "because it's coming from left flank," said Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli brigadier general and defense strategist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "This means that Iran not only has to look west, to see what's coming, but it also needs to look inside," Orion said. The Israeli clandestine mission was the product of years of work, Israeli officials have said. That included commando operations inside Iran's capital, Tehran, which was hit hard Friday, including explosions that struck residential buildings. Experts believed that at least some of the drones used in the overall attack were quadcopters, with four propellers, including some that were relatively small but able to carry bombs or other weapons. "One of the things that created was, of course, surprise," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a national address Friday night. "I told President Trump when we spoke, 'Surprise is the essence of success.'" Netanyahu compared the covert attack to another by Israel, last September in Lebanon, where pagers and walkie-talkies filled with explosives targeted Hezbollah. That operation was also cited by intelligence experts in early June, after Ukraine's surprise strike in Russia, as an example of how technology is rapidly changing the way wars are fought. But at the heart of all three military missions -- in Lebanon, Russia and now Iran -- is the painstaking and often fruitless effort of intelligence gathering. Such operations can take years and are fraught with danger. "At the end of the day, the drones are just instruments, and the way they can be used comes down to your sophistication and your creativity," said Farzan Sabet, an analyst of Iran and weapons systems at the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland. "So it's a natural evolution; this is just a taste of what's to come." Drones may become an especially attractive weapon in covert operations, Sabet said, if they can be smuggled into enemy territory in parts and over time, making them even more difficult to detect. As drone warfare evolves, so will ways to counter it. That could include low-tech solutions, like shielding military equipment and other targets with hardened covers, or more advanced systems that shoot down drones, either with a weapon or by jamming them. Sabet said Iran has been developing a multilayered air defense system with a "360-degree perspective of threats coming in" that, if operational, should have been able to detect incoming attacks from high in the atmosphere, like a ballistic missile, or from a drone launched from a few kilometers away. Why that did not happen Friday is not clear. But the similarities between the drone-smuggling operations by Israel and Ukraine suggest that such tactics will be copied in other conflicts -- at least until newer, stealthier or more powerful war-fighting strategies are developed. "The technology is impressive in both the operations by Ukraine and in the case of Israel; it's pushing the boundaries of the novel uses of this technology," Sabet said. "But for me, the human intelligence side of it, that's more incredible." This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Korea Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Israel's attacks on Iran hint at a bigger ambition: regime change
Israel's surprise attack on Iran had an obvious goal of sharply disrupting Tehran's nuclear programme and lengthening the time it would need to develop an atomic weapon. But the scale of the attacks, Israel's choice of targets, and its politicians' own words suggest another, longer-term ambition: toppling the regime itself. The strikes early on Friday hit not just Iran's nuclear facilities and missile factories but also key figures in the country's military chain of command and its nuclear scientists, blows that appear aimed at diminishing Iran's credibility both at home and among its allies in the region - factors that could destabilize the Iranian leadership, experts said. "One assumes that one of the reasons that Israel is doing that is that they're hoping to see regime change," said Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior official under President George W. Bush. "It would like to see the people of Iran rise up," he said, adding that the limited civilian casualties in the initial round of attacks also spoke to a broader aim. In a video address hours after Israeli fighter jets began striking Iranian nuclear facilities and air defence systems, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appealed to the Iranian people directly. "The Islamic regime, which has oppressed you for almost 50 years, threatens to destroy our country, the State of Israel," Netanyahu said. Israel's objective was to remove the nuclear and ballistic missile threat, he said, but added: "As we achieve our objective, we are also clearing the path for you to achieve your freedom. "The regime does not know what hit them, or what will hit them. It has never been weaker. This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard," Netanyahu said. But despite the damage inflicted by the unprecedented Israeli attack, decades of enmity toward Israel - not only among Iran's rulers but its majority-Shi'ite population - raises questions about the prospect for fomenting enough public support to oust an entrenched theocratic leadership in Tehran backed by loyal security forces. Singh cautioned that no one knows what conditions would be required for an opposition to coalesce in Iran. Friday's assault was the first phase of what Israel said would be a prolonged operation. Experts said they expected Israel would continue to go after key Iranian nuclear infrastructure to delay Tehran's march to a nuclear bomb - even if Israel on its own does not have the capability to eliminate Iran's nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. The U.N. nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. Israel's first salvoes targeted senior figures in Iran's military and scientific establishment, took out much of the country's air defence system and destroyed the above-ground enrichment plant at Iran's nuclear site. "As a democratic country, the State of Israel believes that it is up to the people of a country to shape their national politics, and choose their government," the Israeli embassy in Washington told Reuters. "The future of Iran can only be determined by the Iranian people." Netanyahu has called for a change in Iran's government, including in September. US President Donald Trump's administration, while acquiescing to Israel's strikes and helping its close ally fend off Iran's retaliatory missile barrage, has given no indication that it seeks regime change in Tehran. The White House and Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York also did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter. ENDING NUCLEAR PROGRAMME BEYOND REACH, FOR NOW Israel has much further to go if it is to dismantle Iran's nuclear facilities, and military analysts have always said it might be impossible to totally disable the well-fortified sites dotted around Iran. The Israeli government has also cautioned that Iran's nuclear programme could not be entirely destroyed by means of a military campaign. "There's no way to destroy a nuclear programme by military means," Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel's Channel 13 TV. The military campaign could, however, create conditions for a deal with the United States that would thwart the nuclear programme. Analysts also remain sceptical that Israel will have the munitions needed to obliterate Iran's nuclear project on its own. "Israel probably cannot take out completely the nuclear project on its own without the American participation," Sima Shine, a former chief Mossad analyst and now a researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, told reporters on Friday. While setting back Tehran's nuclear programme would have value for Israel, the hope for undermining the regime could explain why Israel went after so many senior military figures, potentially throwing the Iranian security establishment into confusion and chaos. "These people were very vital, very knowledgeable, many years in their jobs, and they were a very important component of the stability of the regime, specifically the security stability of the regime," said Shine. "In the ideal world, Israel would prefer to see a change of regime, no question about that," she said. But such a change would come with risk, said Jonathan Panikoff, a former US deputy national intelligence officer for the Middle East who is now at the Atlantic Council. If Israel succeeds in removing Iran's leadership, there is no guarantee the successor that emerges would not be even more hardline in pursuit of conflict with Israel. "For years, many in Israel have insisted that regime change in Iran would prompt a new and better day - that nothing could be worse than the current theocratic regime," Panikoff said.
Ya Libnan
5 days ago
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Israel's ultimate goal of its attacks on Iran is 'regime change'
By Crispian Balmer , Maayan Lubell , Michael Martina and Matt Spetalnick Highlights Israel's surprise attack on Iran had an obvious goal of sharply disrupting Tehran's nuclear programme and lengthening the time it would need to develop an atomic weapon. But the scale of the attacks, Israel's choice of targets, and its politicians' own words suggest another, longer-term ambition: toppling the regime itself. The strikes early on Friday hit not just Iran's nuclear facilities and missile factories but also key figures in the country's military chain of command and its nuclear scientists, blows that appear aimed at diminishing Iran's credibility both at home and among its allies in the region – factors that could destabilize the Iranian leadership, experts said. 'One assumes that one of the reasons that Israel is doing that is that they're hoping to see regime change,' said Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior official under President George W. Bush. 'It would like to see the people of Iran rise up,' he said, adding that the limited civilian casualties in the initial round of attacks also spoke to a broader aim. In a video address hours after Israeli fighter jets began striking Iranian nuclear facilities and air defence systems, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appealed to the Iranian people directly. 'The Islamic regime, which has oppressed you for almost 50 years, threatens to destroy our country, the State of Israel,' Netanyahu said. Israel's objective was to remove the nuclear and ballistic missile threat, he said, but added: 'As we achieve our objective, we are also clearing the path for you to achieve your freedom. 'The regime does not know what hit them, or what will hit them. It has never been weaker. This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard,' Netanyahu said. But despite the damage inflicted by the unprecedented Israeli attack, decades of enmity toward Israel – not only among Iran's rulers but its majority-Shi'ite population – raises questions about the prospect for fomenting enough public support to oust an entrenched theocratic leadership in Tehran backed by loyal security forces. Singh cautioned that no one knows what conditions would be required for an opposition to coalesce in Iran. Friday's assault was the first phase of what Israel said would be a prolonged operation. Experts said they expected Israel would continue to go after key Iranian nuclear infrastructure to delay Tehran's march to a nuclear bomb – even if Israel on its own does not have the capability to eliminate Iran's nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. The U.N. nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. Israel's first salvoes targeted senior figures in Iran's military and scientific establishment, took out much of the country's air defence system and destroyed the above-ground enrichment plant at Iran's nuclear site. 'As a democratic country, the State of Israel believes that it is up to the people of a country to shape their national politics, and choose their government,' the Israeli embassy in Washington told Reuters. 'The future of Iran can only be determined by the Iranian people.' Netanyahu has called for a change in Iran's government, . U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, while acquiescing to Israel's strikes and helping its close ally fend off Iran's retaliatory missile barrage, has given no indication that it seeks regime change in Tehran. The White House and Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York also did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter. ENDING NUCLEAR PROGRAM BEYOND REACH, FOR NOW Israel has much further to go if it is to dismantle Iran's nuclear facilities, and military analysts have always said it might be impossible to totally disable the well-fortified sites dotted around Iran. The Israeli government has also cautioned that Iran's nuclear program could not be entirely destroyed by means of a military campaign. 'There's no way to destroy a nuclear program by military means,' Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel's Channel 13 TV. The military campaign could, however, create conditions for a deal with the United States that would thwart the nuclear program . Analysts also remain skeptical that Israel will have the munitions needed to obliterate Iran's nuclear project on its own. 'Israel probably cannot take out completely the nuclear project on its own without the American participation,' Sima Shine, a former chief Mossad analyst and now a researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, told reporters on Friday. While setting back Tehran's nuclear programme would have value for Israel, the hope for undermining the regime could explain why Israel went after so many senior military figures, potentially throwing the Iranian security establishment into confusion and chaos. 'These people were very vital, very knowledgeable, many years in their jobs, and they were a very important component of the stability of the regime, specifically the security stability of the regime,' said Shine. 'In the ideal world, Israel would prefer to see a change of regime, no question about that,' she said. But such a change would come with risk, said Jonathan Panikoff, a former U.S. deputy national intelligence officer for the Middle East who is now at the Atlantic Council. If Israel succeeds in removing Iran's leadership, there is no guarantee the successor that emerges would not be even more hardline in pursuit of conflict with Israel. 'For years, many in Israel have insisted that regime change in Iran would prompt a new and better day – that nothing could be worse than the current theocratic regime,' Panikoff said. 'But history tells us it can always be worse (Reuters)
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
First Ukraine, now Israel: drone smuggling is potent new war weapon
The Israeli clandestine mission was the product of years of work, Israeli officials have said. PHOTO: REUTERS Small, difficult to detect and able to pack a powerful punch, attack drones have become a formidable weapon in modern warfare. But when launched from deep inside enemy territory – as in Iran and in Russia this month – their impact is all the more devastating. The surprise factor of having to fend off drones attacking from within combines a classic military strategy with modern technology. Spy craft and covert operations have long been a part of combat, but using them to build or deploy deadly drones behind enemy lines is a new tactic in the ever-evolving art of war, officials and weapons experts said. That was the case two weeks ago, when more than 40 Russian war planes were hit by a swarm of 117 drones that Ukraine had secretly planted near military bases in Russia months earlier. Some were thousands of miles from Ukraine. It was also the case in Iran, which lost missiles, interceptors and air defense systems that were destroyed on June 13 by drones and other weapons that Israeli intelligence operatives had smuggled in earlier. Many details about the secretive operations and how they were carried out remain murky to protect methods of intelligence collection and sources of covert information. But Israel's approach gave it an edge in its wide-ranging attack against Iran 'because it's coming from left flank,' said Mr Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli brigadier general and defense strategist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 'This means that Iran not only has to look west, to see what's coming, but it also needs to look inside,' Mr Orion said. The Israeli clandestine mission was the product of years of work, Israeli officials have said. That included commando operations inside Iran's capital, Tehran, which was hit hard on June 13, including explosions that struck residential buildings. Experts believed that at least some of the drones used in the overall attack were quadcopters, with four propellers, including some that were relatively small but able to carry bombs or other weapons. 'One of the things that created was, of course, surprise,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a national address on June 13 night. 'I told President Trump when we spoke, 'Surprise is the essence of success.'' Mr Netanyahu compared the covert attack to another by Israel, last September in Lebanon, where pagers and walkie-talkies filled with explosives targeted Hezbollah. That operation was also cited by intelligence experts in early June, after Ukraine's surprise strike in Russia, as an example of how technology is rapidly changing the way wars are fought. But at the heart of all three military missions – in Lebanon, Russia and now Iran – is the painstaking and often fruitless effort of intelligence gathering. Such operations can take years and are fraught with danger. 'At the end of the day, the drones are just instruments, and the way they can be used comes down to your sophistication and your creativity,' said Mr Farzan Sabet, an analyst of Iran and weapons systems at the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland. 'So it's a natural evolution; this is just a taste of what's to come.' Drones may become an especially attractive weapon in covert operations, Mr Sabet said, if they can be smuggled into enemy territory in parts and over time, making them even more difficult to detect. As drone warfare evolves, so will ways to counter it. That could include low-tech solutions, like shielding military equipment and other targets with hardened covers, or more advanced systems that shoot down drones, either with a weapon or by jamming them. Mr Sabet said Iran has been developing a multilayered air defense system with a '360-degree perspective of threats coming in' that, if operational, should have been able to detect incoming attacks from high in the atmosphere, like a ballistic missile, or from a drone launched from a few kilometers away. Why that did not happen June 13 is not clear.' But the similarities between the drone-smuggling operations by Israel and Ukraine suggest that such tactics will be copied in other conflicts – at least until newer, stealthier or more powerful war-fighting strategies are developed. 'The technology is impressive in both the operations by Ukraine and in the case of Israel; it's pushing the boundaries of the novel uses of this technology,' Mr Sabet said. 'But for me, the human intelligence side of it, that's more incredible.' NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
