Israel attacked and targeted Iran’s S-300 air defense system; Satellite images revealed
Last week, drone and missile attacks were carried out on Iran’s Isfahan province. The attack reportedly started from Israel and targeted the area where Iran has nuclear bases and air defense systems. US news agencies said Israel carried out the attacks. Meanwhile, the Jewish state of Israel has neither made any announcement about this attack nor denied the attack. These attacks came a week after Iran carried out drone, cruise and ballistic missile attacks on Israel. The targeted attacks by Tehran came suddenly and after tensions reached a peak.
The New York Times and the BBC have analysed satellite images of the area where the Israeli drone and a missile were attacked. The attack was reportedly launched from a warplane. Satellite images show the Russian-origin S-300 surface-air anti-ballistic missile defence system located northeast of Isfahan International Airport. Satellite images showed surface-air anti-ballistic missile defence systems placed at a secret location on April 15. However, the latest image on Google Earth on April 19 showed the site empty. There was no sign of the S-300 missile defence system there. The Natanz nuclear base is located north of the attack site.
According to the New York Times report, two Iranian officials said that the Iranian military did not detect anything entering Iran’s airspace on Friday, including drones, missiles and planes. This report is also supported by Iran’s state media agency IRNA. IRNA said that there was no missile attack and Iran’s air defense systems were not activated. Satellite images from the BBC and the New York Times showed damage to the air defense system.
Umbra synthetic aperture radar imagery acquired 0648Z 19APR2024 showed evidence of damage to the Iranian S-300PMU2 strategic surface-to-air missile battery in Isfahan since 15APR2024. A probable damaged 30N6E target engagement radar was visible in imagery still on the radar… pic.twitter.com/eqMFTanPOH
— Chris Biggers (@CSBiggers) April 19, 2024
The BBC said the S-300 defence system’s radar was damaged but the missile launchers were intact. The fire control radar guides missiles towards targets and is a key element in the air defence system. “Satellite images clearly show that the system’s radar, which guides surface-to-air missiles, has been destroyed,” Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, was quoted as saying by Iran International, a news agency critical of the Iranian regime.
اختصاصی: تصاویر دقیق ماهوارهای پیش و پس از حمله منتسب به اسرائیل به سامانههای پدافندی در پایگاه هشتم شکاری اصفهان pic.twitter.com/Ta8LwskLpl
— Fardad Farahzad | فرداد فرحزاد (@FardadFarahzad) April 21, 2024
The extent of damage is still unknown and it is also not clear what weapons Israel allegedly used. This is because both sides have denied the claims. However, the New York Times quoted Western officials as saying that Israel’s attack was done to send a message to Iran that Iran’s defense systems cannot do anything to it. Along with this, Israel also showed that its missile and the aircraft that fired it attacked without entering Jordan’s airspace. Russia completed the delivery of S-300 air defense system to Iran in 2016 after years of negotiations. The supply of one of the most dangerous air defense systems to Iran had raised concerns within Israel. In 2010, after pressure from Western countries, Russia was forced to cancel the deal with Iran.
