Mockery for Iran

Every second missile “failed in flight” against Israel

Test of an Iranian "Kheibar Shekan" missile in May 2023 - Large numbers of such missiles were fired at Israel on Saturday.

(Bild: APA/AFP/IRANIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY)

With its "retaliatory action" against Israel, Iran wanted to send a clear message and demonstrate its military strength. The latter was a complete failure: Numerous missiles crashed long before they came close to their target. The fear of a conflagration has given way to biting derision for the Mullah regime.

For the first time ever, Iran attacked Israel on Saturday, with more than 300 missiles pelting down on the country. However, most of them were intercepted by Israeli air defenses, and the population got off lightly.

Experts agree that the Mullah regime did not want to unleash a war that it could not afford, but to retaliate against its arch-enemy for the attack in Damascus, in which high-ranking commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were killed. Political scientist Markus Kaim spoke to "Ö1" about a primarily "political message". It had been signaled: "Israel has crossed a line, there is a price to be paid", said Kaim.

States were warned in advance
This is supported by the fact that there were announcements and warnings. Turkey, Jordan and Iraq, for example, were informed 72 hours before the attack. Furthermore, soon after the attack, Tehran announced that the "retaliation" was complete. Former NATO chief George Robertson even believes that Iran did not want to land a hit.

While Iran spoke of "self-defense", the attack was condemned by Western countries. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani criticized this and immediately stated that the West should "appreciate" Iran's "restraint" in recent months.

60 tons of explosives in the air
Even if the Mullah regime is not interested in open warfare, there can be no question of "restraint". According to Israeli figures, 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles were fired. In total, around 60 tons of explosives were fired at Israel. If Israel's modern air defenses had not repelled almost all of them, the effects could have been devastating instead of a few casualties and minor damage to the Nevatim airbase. 

There is no doubt that Iran also wanted to send out a signal of military strength with the attack. However, this was a complete failure. According to the Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, around half of the missiles fired made false starts or crashed before reaching Israel. According to the report, between 115 and 130 ballistic missiles were fired that were supposed to hit Israeli territory. Half of these were successfully intercepted, while the other half "failed in flight" and did not reach their target. "So much for Iran's vaunted missile capabilities," an official was quoted as saying by the US newspaper.

Mockery on the net
In Israel and also in the Arab world, Iran's military capabilities were mocked after the major attack. A satirical "Mossad" account on X shared a photo of a small crater and sarcastically wrote: "We will rebuild". A picture of a military vehicle with huge cucumbers instead of rockets being launched from its ramp also made the rounds online. "Bad show", wrote Alaa Mubarak, son of the late Egyptian long-term ruler Hosni Mubarak, laconically on X.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how Israel will react to the attack. The war cabinet met on Monday. It had already met on Sunday to discuss an Israeli retaliatory strike, but no decision has yet been taken. Internationally, Israel is being urged to exercise restraint and de-escalation is being called for in the Middle East.