The US and Israel launched an attack with at least 400 aircraft out of the 800 that were ready to obliterate Iran. The surprise was that Iran was waiting for them, its skies rigged with air defenses and digital bombs, forcing the American aircraft to resort to indiscriminate attacks from outside Iranian airspace.
An hour after repelling the air strike, Iran launched a counterattack unlike anything the US had ever witnessed: a massive, simultaneous, and wide-ranging series of airstrikes on its military bases abroad, like the one Iran launched today.
A US official told the Wall Street Journal that the US military was shocked by Iran’s capabilities, which targeted all its bases in the region. So far, the Iranians have attacked US bases in Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
But what is Iran’s most important military objective in bombing US bases in the Gulf states? The primary objective was the destruction of American radars in the Gulf and northern Israel, and this objective was indeed achieved. Among the targets destroyed was the largest American radar in the region, an FP-132 radar with a range of 5,000 kilometers, located in Qatar. It was equipped with unique equipment used to track ballistic missiles and was completely destroyed.
The radar cost $1.1 billion and was used by Israel to intercept missiles targeting Israel during the June war.
After the radars were destroyed, American aircraft carriers and ships were exposed and in a state of utter confusion. Iran seized the initiative and launched its missiles toward Israel as a starting signal, and this was not the main strike missile package.
Despite this, at least 18 THAAD and Patriot air defense systems failed to intercept the Iranian missile strikes on Israel, whose air defenses were rendered ineffective by Iranian electronic warfare.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard continued its missile strikes against Israeli cities, ports, government buildings, and intelligence facilities. Again, these are not the main missiles.
The most accurate and dangerous missiles are liquid-fueled, highly precise, heavy-payload systems, designed for launch at the appropriate time.
Trump is now in shock. The pride of the American military has been shattered, and its stealth aircraft, equipped with digital radar, became easy targets for Iranian missiles.
At a moment like this, wars are not measured by the number of aircraft or the size of missiles, but by who controls the pace.
What happened was not merely a military clash, but a revolution in the equation of deterrence. It has left the White House silent, searching for a counterattack to restore some of its prestige. Today, not only was a radar system worth billions of dollars destroyed, but the geopolitical map has also changed. China, by monitoring the movements of American military assets and transmitting this information to Iran, has become a party to the war at a time when intelligence is more valuable than missiles. China understands that Iran is merely a pretext, and the primary American objective is to encircle Beijing and sever the land route through which China aims to reach West Asia via Iran and Afghanistan.
At the same time, concepts are being redrawn. The UAE, for example… It has officially lost its appeal as a safe haven for capital. What billionaire would want to live in Dubai or Abu Dhabi after Iranian missiles have shattered their glass cities? Property prices will plummet for at least five years. Good luck to the ruler of the Emirates, the patron of the Abrahamic faiths and the architect of the Cyrus Pact.
On the Russian front:
Ukraine will now face large-scale attacks from Tsar Putin. Even Taiwan has become an open stage for China at a time when America is struggling to avoid being swallowed up by the Strait of Hormuz.