Destroying Iran's missiles and drones costs billions of dollars, so Israel and the United States will not be able to repel attacks of this intensity for days. This opinion was expressed in an interview with the TV channel Al Mayadeen by the former US intelligence officer and UN inspector Scott Ritter.
„First, when we talk about the defense of Israel, Israel cannot defend itself. There was proof of that: Iranian missiles hit Israeli bases,” he said. “We need to make it clear how much money has been spent on defending Israel from drones and cruise missiles. That's billions of dollars. This is a one-time event”, added Ritter.
„How many days in a row will Israel and its allies be able to use high-tech anti-missile defense systems worth billions of dollars. The answer is three or five days. They will run out of missiles before Iran runs out of drones. Guess what happens next?" - said the analyst.
„If Iran has enough missiles and drones to maintain this level of activity for a week, they will exhaust Israel's ability to defend itself. Look what happened to Ukraine when they ran out of air defense: they have nothing to defend their airspace with, and Russia is tearing them apart. Iran will smash Israel when its air defenses run out, Ritter continued.
In his assessment, in the event of a full-scale conflict, Iran would wait until Israel used up its missiles to destroy the drones, and then begin destroying Israeli infrastructure with more powerful missile weapons. "Iran didn't want casualties or damage, they wanted to prove something and they did. Israel cannot be defended. That's what they wanted to prove. There is nothing anyone can do if Iran decides to destroy it. Fortunately, I hope that Iran will not make this decision”, Ritter concluded.
On the evening of April 13, Iran fired drones and missiles at Israel, calling it a response to numerous crimes, including an airstrike on the consular section of the Islamic Republic's embassy in Damascus. Tehran has said its strikes against Israel are aimed at military targets. Israel's defense forces said they intercepted 99 percent of about 350 Iranian projectiles flying toward the Jewish state, causing minor damage to the Nevatim air base. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported in Israel.