Iran has the largest number of ballistic missiles in the Middle East, but the Israeli army is extremely modern and high-tech. What does the comparison between the two countries show?
Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure and eliminated some of the country's military leaders. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the strikes will continue for "many days". The Israel Defense Forces announced that they used 200 fighter jets. In response, Iran launched over 100 drones against Israel.
Israel wants to deal a heavy blow to Iran's nuclear program
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that one of the targets of the attack was the Iranian nuclear facility in Natanz. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed this and described the situation as "deeply concerning". It is in Natanz that Iran produces a large part of its nuclear fuel. It also produces the raw material that could allow Tehran to create nuclear weapons. The other similar base - Fordow - is located in the mountains and is much better protected from potential attacks.
Israel wants to block Iran's nuclear program, but the big question from now on is how much it can slow it down.
Iran threatened a decisive response
The head of the Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami, and the head of the Iranian armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri, were killed in the Israeli attack, and Iran threatened a decisive response.
According to experts, Tehran has the largest number of ballistic missiles in the Middle East. Washington estimates that there are over 3,000 missiles.
Iran cannot effectively counter Israeli operations
The Israeli military announced that it used over 200 fighter jets in the attack on Iran. According to media reports, air defense systems in the Islamic Republic were also sabotaged.
In recent years, Iran has failed to prevent a number of Israeli operations aimed at the country. But while Israel can inflict serious damage to Iran's nuclear program, it does not have the heavy bombs and aircraft to seriously hit Iran's underground nuclear facilities, military experts and former American and Israeli officials told NBC. However, Israel has extremely modern and effective weapons, including ballistic missiles and drones.
Iran has a larger army - 600,000 active duty, 350,000 reservists and 220,000 paramilitaries compared to the Israeli army, which has 170,000 soldiers and 465,000 reservists. The Islamic Republic probably also has more tanks and aircraft, but most of them are old Soviet equipment and old American fighters purchased before the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
That is why the Global Firepower index, which calculates the military power of different countries, places Israel in 15th place and Iran in 16th place in the world.