JAM STA ROSA / AFP
Ships, planes and Patriot missiles were used by Washington to neutralize much of the offensive launched by Tehran.
Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel using hundreds of drones and missiles was the culmination of two weeks of tensions, during which Washington made considerable efforts to prevent the region from igniting.
The United States, with the support of European destroyers, destroyed “over 80” drones and “at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen”the US Army Central Command (Centcom) said on Sunday.
During the Iranian attack
About 100 medium-range ballistic missiles, more than 30 cruise missiles and at least 150 attack drones have targeted Israel from Iran, according to a US military official.
Two American ships present in the region, theUSS Arleigh Burke and theUSS Carney, destroyed half a dozen missiles before planes took action, in turn destroying more than 70 Iranian drones. A battery of Patriot missiles shot down another cruise missile not far from the Iraqi city of Erbil, in Kurdistan.
US President Joe Biden spent Saturday evening following the events live in the famous “Situation Room”, the situation room of the White House.
“We estimate that over a hundred missiles were on approach at the same time, at any given time. The results of the defensive measures were of course unclear until it was all over.said an official present on site, to describe the atmosphere of tension.
The detonator
The Iranian attack is intended to be a response to the strike carried out by Israel on April 1 against the Tehran consulate in Damascus, in which seven members of the Revolutionary Guards, including two generals, died. Iran immediately affirmed that the strike would not go unanswered.
Senior American officials were briefed on the attack on Damascus during a visit by the Israeli ambassador and military attaché to the White House, according to a US administration official. “We did not participate in this strike but we knew it would have consequences”he added.
In the following days, President Biden called on the government to “defend Israel as much as possible” and to ensure that the means allowing this were deployed, according to a directive from Washington.
American preparations
Before the Iranian attack, US officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, remained “in constant contact” with Israel as well as with other countries in the region.
General Erik Kurilla, head of the military command in charge of the Middle East, visited the site several times, providing real-time information while ensuring coordination with Israel and other regional partners.
The United States was also in contact with Iran, via “a series of direct communications relayed by Switzerland”added an American official.
Additional troops have also been deployed to the region “to enhance regional deterrence and protection of U.S. forces,” according to the Department of Defense.