Earlier, US President Donald Trump mentioned the US recovered a second crew member of an F-15E that went down over Iran on Friday in what he referred to as a “daring” search and rescue operation.
Iran’s army has referred to as it “a deception and escape mission”, insisting it was “fully foiled”.
On Monday, Iran’s overseas ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei mentioned there have been “many questions and uncertainties” in regards to the operation.
“The world the place the American pilot was claimed to be current in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province is a great distance from the world the place they tried to land or wished to land their forces in central Iran,” Baqaei mentioned.
“The likelihood that this was a deception operation to steal enriched uranium shouldn’t be ignored in any respect.”
He added that the operation was “a catastrophe” for the USA.
Iran’s army mentioned a number of US plane needed to “make emergency landings” in southern Isfahan province after being hit in the course of the mission, with the US “compelled to closely bombard the downed plane” because of this.
The so-called US army rescue operation, deliberate as a deception and escape mission at an deserted airport in southern Isfahan underneath the pretext of recovering the pilot of a downed plane, was fully foiled,” mentioned Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the army’s central command, Khatam Al-Anbiya.
In a video assertion carried by state tv, he mentioned that “two C-130 army transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters had been destroyed” in the course of the operation.
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He added that Trump went forward with “empty rhetoric and diversion, though the truth on the bottom demonstrates the superior place of Iran’s highly effective armed forces.”
State media shared photos of charred wreckage scattered throughout a desert space, with smoke nonetheless rising from the positioning. Iranian media reported that strikes in the course of the rescue operation killed 5 individuals within the southwest, though it was not instantly clear whether or not they had been civilians or army.
In the meantime, the US Vice President admitted losses and wrote on X: AFTERMATH: US forces destroyed two C-130 plane on the bottom in southern Iran after efficiently rescuing the downed F-15E crew. The non permanent ahead working base used throughout final evening’s high-risk rescue mission was demolished to stop it from falling into enemy fingers. Particular Forces accomplished the daring extraction underneath hearth, then ensured nothing of worth was left behind for Iran. Zero US casualties. Mission completed. That is what decisive American army energy appears to be like like.
Iran’s Ballistic Missile Program
Iran possesses the most important and most numerous ballistic missile arsenal within the Center East, serving as a key deterrent and strategic device for the IRGC. This system has shifted from reliance on overseas designs (North Korean/Russian) to home, solid-fuel know-how for higher mobility and quicker launch occasions.
This system is concentrated on short- and medium-range missiles (SRBMs/MRBMs) with ranges of two,000–3,000 km, and contains underground “missile cities” and superior hypersonic, maneuvering, and precision-guided know-how.
MRBMs are the spine of the power, together with the Khorramshahr-4 (Khaibar) (2,000 km), Sejjil (2,000 km), and Emad. SRBMs embrace the Shahab-1/2 (Scud-based) and the Qiam-1 (700-800 km), typically utilized by regional proxies. Iran has developed the extremely maneuverable Fattah hypersonic missile (introduced in 2023) with precision steering. The arsenal is meant to counter superior air forces within the area, notably these of the U.S. and Israel.
Iran obtained a number of giant shipments of sodium perchlorate from China, totaling roughly 3,000 tons. It’s a precursor within the manufacturing of ammonium perchlorate, the first oxidizer in solid-fuelled rocket motors utilized in Iran’s MRBMs.
Through the 2026 Iran Struggle, ballistic missiles had been used to focus on U.S. bases in addition to targets in neighboring Arab states and Israel. All of Europe, and particularly Britain, France, and Germany, are in vary of Iranian MRBMs, whereas main US cities corresponding to Washington and New York, past vary at roughly 10,000 km away, could also be focused by missiles launched from the ocean.
Iran was assumed to own greater than 3,000 missiles in whole (throughout all ranges). Iran-backed Iraqi militias have obtained “a few dozen” short-range ballistic missiles. Iran employs cell multi-axle vans to move most missiles, enabling dispersion.
A number of of Iran’s ballistic missiles have the vary and payload capability to hold a nuclear warhead, ought to Iran select to develop one. This has drawn worldwide concern and sanctions. The Shahab-3, based mostly on North Korean know-how, is considered one of Iran’s most refined ballistic missiles. With a variety of about 1,300 kilometers, it may carry a nuclear warhead.
Particular Operations – Fairly Potential
On September 8, 2024, throughout “Operation Many Methods”, Israeli Particular Forces destroyed a Deep Layer facility, which was an underground Iranian-funded missile manufacturing web site positioned close to Masyaf in western Syria.
The location was a flagship challenge of Iran’s missile manufacturing program, and meant to provide precision missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon and to the Assad regime in Syria.
The underground facility had been constructed as a result of an earlier Israeli airstrike on an aboveground rocket engine manufacturing web site in Jamraya, southern Syria, had destroyed it. By 2021, the underground facility, buried 70 to 130 meters right into a mountain, had change into operational, with missile manufacturing capabilities nearing full scale.
The horseshoe-shaped construction featured three main entrances: one for uncooked supplies, one other for accomplished missiles, and a 3rd for logistics and workplace entry. Israel estimated the power’s annual output may vary from 100 to 300 missiles, with a variety of over 300 kilometers.
The location was deliberately positioned 200 km north of the Israeli border and 45 km from Syria’s western shoreline to avoid Israeli strikes. Israel had been monitoring the power carefully and refining airstrike plans.
In October 2023, the elite Israeli Shaldag unit, identified for long-range penetration operations, and Unit 669, specializing in fight search-and-rescue, had been chosen for the mission.
The operation started with 100 commandos and 20 medics boarding 4 CH-53 “Yasur” heavy helicopters, escorted by AH-64 assault helicopters, 21 fighter jets. Different platforms had been 5 drones and 14 reconnaissance planes. The formations flew over the Mediterranean to keep away from detection by Syrian radar.
After getting into Syria, the helicopters flew exceptionally low, nap-of-the-earth (NOE) operations, to evade the nation’s densest air protection zones. Fighter plane launched diversionary strikes on different Syrian targets, taking consideration away from the Masyaf area. The helicopters landed close to the power’s entrances, deploying troops. A surveillance drone launched by the commandos monitored the world.
Commandos secured the perimeter after which breached the closely guarded facility. As soon as inside, the crew planted practically 660 kilos of explosives alongside the manufacturing line and its help services.
The crew then exited and detonated the explosives, remotely destroying the manufacturing web site. The mission was accomplished in lower than 3 hours, and returned utilizing the identical helicopters.
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By ET On-line Desk with Inputs by AFP and EurAsian Occasions OPED
