Israeli Air Force strikes dozens of Iranian facilities in Syria. Israel's new strike on Syria has an important difference from previous Israel strikes on Syria

War of domes and shells. A full-fledged air battle broke out in the Syrian sky

The landmark event of the past week was the exchange of blows between Syria and Israel. In a few hours, a full-scale air war unfolded in the sky.

Both sides used the most modern facilities their arsenals. Anti-missile systems went into battle Iron Dom("Iron Dome"), " Pantsir-S», « Buk-M", cruise missiles Deliah, long-range anti-tank systems SPIKE-NLOS, attack drones-hunters for air defense Harop and reactive systems salvo fire « Tornado". Also, according to some reports, Tel Aviv used the latest aeroballistic missiles launched from aircraft.

So far, both sides of the conflict attribute the victory to themselves. The Israeli military department has distributed several videos recorded from optoelectronic systems of aircraft weapons of destruction (ASP). They show how the TSA hit the MLRS " Tornado", as well as launcher « Pantsir-S". It is noteworthy that experts are still arguing what these weapons were. In turn, Damascus published in in social networks several videos that clearly show how Syrian anti-aircraft missiles are very effective in destroying certain objects in the night sky.

However, the first detailed analysis of the night battle was given by the Russian Ministry of Defense. A few hours after the last volleys, the military department held a special briefing, at which they said: during the battles, the Syrian air defense managed to destroy about 70 Israeli missiles. In general, as during the US-French-British missile strike, Syria's air defense worked well.

Let's try to figure out what happened and what successes both sides achieved.

Superiority Mystery

The first and most difficult question is: who struck first? Tel Aviv claims to have resolutely responded to the provocations after Israeli territory was shelled by Iranian armed forces in the Golan Heights. Tehran's supporters used ballistic missiles for the first time, which were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. After that, Tel Aviv decided to inflict massive missile strikes according to famous Iranian facilities in Syria.

At the same time, Damascus said that the Israeli armed forces were the first to deliver a massive strike, and that this was a pre-planned operation. In particular, airfields and air defense positions were attacked. After repelling the attack, Damascus launched a retaliatory missile attack on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights, which resulted in heavy casualties on the part of the Israeli military. However, official statements never Iranian military formations were not mentioned.

Both versions have inconsistencies. It must be admitted that serious preparations preceded the Israeli strike. The operation was clearly planned for a long time.. This is supported by the fact that the use of cruise missiles, air defense hunter drones and long-range anti-tank missiles. The targets were clearly reconnoitered in advance, a schedule was drawn up for their destruction in such a way as to reduce the potential of the Syrian air defense and destroy the given objects.

But there is some truth in Israel's version as well. Most likely, it could not have done without the participation of Iran and its proxy forces. This is evidenced by the fact that in all statements Damascus avoided mentioning Tehran's participation in every possible way.

The fact of a ballistic missile attack on Israeli territory has not been confirmed. All volleys on the territory of Israel were delivered by the Syrian long-range MLRS "Smerch". But there is speculation that Tehran, in response to the US breaking the nuclear deal, decided to increase its military capabilities in Syria. Moreover, the US president made his decision largely under pressure from the Israeli lobby and Tel Aviv itself. It suffices to remember that Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a report, arguing that the Iranian side had not curtailed work on nuclear weapons.

As has been repeatedly mentioned, Tehran has previously deployed drone units on the border with Israel and equipped positions ballistic missiles. At the same time, Tel Aviv repeatedly struck, preventing the implementation of Iranian plans. But this time Tehran crossed a certain "red line" and the Israeli side decided to react as harshly as possible. It can be assumed that Iran has finally finished preparing launch positions and has begun deploying its ballistic missiles.

Impact footage: a guided missile destroyed the Pantsir-S1 air defense system in Syria

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On the night of May 10, 2018, Iranian military formations in Syria launched a strike with 20 missiles at the positions of the Israel Defense Forces () on the Golan Heights. According to FAN with reference to the data of the Israeli military,

as a result of the shelling, no losses were recorded in the ranks of the IDF.

The attack used unguided missiles of the Grad multiple launch rocket system and the Fajr model (created in Iran using North Korean technologies). Four Iranian missiles were shot down by Israeli tactical system missile defense"Iron Dome" (Eng. Iron Dome). The rest of the missiles fell on the territory of Syria, not reaching the Golan Heights.

The IDF blames the Iranian Revolutionary Guards al-Quds detachment and the commander of this joint Syrian-Iranian formation, Major General Qassim Soleimani, for the missile attack. In this way,

Israel for the first time directly accuses Iran of attacking its territory.

In response to the Iranian attack, the Israeli Air Force launched what the Israeli media estimated was the largest retaliatory missile strike since 1974. Israeli planes attacked dozens of Iranian military facilities in Syria.

According to the Syrian news agency SANA, dozens of Israeli missiles hit a radar station, Syrian air defense positions and an ammunition dump.

The IDF spokesman for the lieutenant general said that the Syrian air defenses tried to shoot down the Israeli Air Force aircraft, but were not successful, and a number of batteries were destroyed. RT reports that the Israeli Air Force bombed the positions of the Syrian army at the foot of the Golan Heights in Khan Arnaba.

Conricus could not give an exact number of Iranian and Syrian casualties, but noted that the strikes were focused "less on people and more on military infrastructure and equipment." According to him, this choice was due to the need "to permanently weaken the military presence of Iran in Syria."

Conricus also emphasized that

The Russian Federation was alerted via communication channels just before Israel's retaliatory strike on Syrian territory.

The United States backed Israel's strike on the Iranians and Syria, reports NSN. “[The Quds attack on Israel] once again proves that the Iranian regime cannot be trusted. Israel has every right to defend its sovereignty. We support them and will support any action aimed at self-defense, ”said the press secretary of the President of the United States.

The day before, on May 9, the Israeli Air Force had already launched a missile attack on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic.

The attack was allegedly carried out by Israeli Air Force aircraft through Lebanese airspace. However, the IDF command does not comment on information about its involvement in the missile attack.

Syrian air defense forces were able to intercept and shoot down several missiles. The Israeli Air Force attacked an Iranian volunteer camp south of Damascus - the T4 airbase. Several explosions were heard in the El Kiswa intercept area. Two missiles were destroyed.

Lebanese journalist Sulome Anderson reported that the group is gathering all its reserves and forces in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border after Israeli air strikes on Iranian targets in the SAR.

Israeli warplanes conducted active observation flights in the Lebanese-Syrian region. Anderson suggested "by some indication" that further development conflict in Syria "may spread to Lebanon."

On the eve of May 8, Israel put troops on high alert and instructed local authorities in the Golan Heights.

From this area, "unusual activity" of Iranian forces in Syria was recorded. Local authorities were, in particular, instructed to open bomb shelters.

On Tuesday, May 8, the Israeli Prime Minister accused Iran of deploying "very dangerous weapons" in Syria. The politician added that these maneuvers are carried out as part of a campaign to create a threat to the Jewish state.

“Iran openly daily calls for destruction, wiping Israel off the face of the earth and practices unconditional aggression against us. Now Tehran is trying to accommodate a very dangerous weapon in Syria with specific purpose our destruction,” Netanyahu stressed.

Earlier, the US President announced Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran, accusing Tehran of creating nuclear weapons.

Syrian air defenses were able to destroy five of the eight missiles

Archive photo

Moscow. April 9th. website - On Monday night, Israeli aircraft launched a missile attack from Lebanese airspace on an airfield in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"On April 9, in the period from 3:25 to 3:53 (Moscow time), two F-15 aircraft of the Israeli Air Force, without entering the airspace of Syria, from the territory of Lebanon, attacked the Tifor airfield with eight guided missiles," the Russian military department.

They added that the divisions air defense Syria was able to destroy five guided missiles, and three missiles reached the western part of the airfield. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that there were no Russian advisers in Syria among the victims.

Trump threatens

Earlier, US President Donald Trump threatened that the Syrian authorities, which he considers responsible for the use of chemical weapons, "will pay a high price." The American media, citing sources in official circles, did not rule out that he meant missile attacks on Syrian military facilities.

Last night, the official Syrian agency SANA reported that the territory of the air base in the province of Homs was subjected to rocket attack. According to the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen, missiles from mediterranean sea flew towards Syria over Lebanese territory.

Syrian state television said on Monday that the Syrian air defense forces shot down several enemy missiles during a missile attack on the Tifor air base (T-4) of the government air force. It was reported about the dead and wounded at the base, but their number was not called.

On the night of February 10, Israeli fighter jets shot down an Iranian drone, which, according to Israel, was launched from Syrian territory. Then Israel in the central part of Syria in the region of the province of Damascus.

As a result of the attack Israeli Air Force lost at least one fighter, which came under fire from Syrian air defense systems. The fighter crashed in Israel, the pilots ejected.

In Iran, Israeli reports about the Iranian drone were called outrageous.

Subsequently, Israel turned to Russia with a request to intervene and prevent the escalation of the situation in Syria after the incident with the downed Iranian drone.

On the evening of February 10, the Kremlin press service reported that telephone conversation Russian President Vladimir Putin with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The situation around the actions of the Israeli Air Force, which carried out missile strikes on targets in Syria, was discussed," the statement said.

The Russian side spoke in favor of avoiding any steps that could lead to a new round of confrontation in the region that is dangerous for everyone.

The next day, Israeli intelligence minister Yisrael Katz said that the strikes against Iranian military positions in Syria were a signal from Israel that it would not tolerate an Iranian military presence on its borders. According to Katz, the Iranians will have time to "think, understand and ask how Israel knows how to strike at these objects."

Contrary to expectations, the United States has not yet made any attempts to strike at Syria, but Israel has done it instead. This is not the first time the Israeli army has carried out attacks on Syrian targets, but the one that was carried out on Monday night has several features at once. One of them is extremely important and directly connected with Russia.

An airstrike on the T-4 airfield of the Syrian base of Et-Tiyas in Homs was carried out by two F-15 fighters of the Israeli Air Force, in the Russian Ministry of Defense. The ministry’s statement notes: “On April 9, between 03.25 and 03.53 Moscow time, two Israeli Air Force F-15 aircraft, without entering Syrian airspace, attacked the T-4 airfield with eight guided missiles from Lebanese territory. Air defense units of the SAR Armed Forces destroyed five guided missiles during the anti-aircraft battle. Three rockets, according to the Russian military, "reached the western part of the airfield." These missiles could not be shot down due to the fact that at the very beginning of the attack, the electronic warfare systems faced suppressive influence from the outside, the source of which has not yet been established, the media.

According to the SANA agency, citing a military source, several people were killed and injured as a result of the attack. For example, there were unconfirmed reports of 14 dead, including Iranian military personnel. So, about two dead Iranians. “There are no casualties among Russian advisers in Syria,” the release emphasizes.

And the US involvement in the strikes on the Syrian military base. The first deputy head of the international committee of the Federation Council Vladimir Dzhabarov expressed the opinion that Russia, through the defense and diplomatic departments, is already asking Israel about the reasons for the airstrike on the Syrian military base. “Israel could use some of its intelligence and decide on an airstrike,” he stated.

How could the Syrians shoot down Israeli missiles? “The Syrians have a wide range for the destruction of such missiles - from the Strela-10 air defense system to the Shilka and the Buk complex. They also have Pantsir complexes, a military expert told the VZGLYAD newspaper, Chief Editor magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland" Viktor Murakhovsky.

On Monday, it was just that Russia supplied Syria with up to 40 Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and gun systems to protect against air attack weapons. " It's about about exports, and not about deliveries from the presence of the Ministry of Defense, ”a source in the military department specified. ZRPK 96K6 "Pantsir-S1" is just designed for close cover of the military and civil facilities, including long-range air defense systems, from all modern and promising means of air attack.

Al-Tiyas is the oldest and one of the largest air bases Syrian Air Force. It is located in a strategically important area, in close proximity to the road to Palmyra and not far from the main gas fields that supply Syria's thermal power plants with blue fuel. During the Russian military operation in Syria, the base was used as a jump airfield. The base was badly damaged and almost destroyed by an ISIS* attack in May 2016. In October of the same year, a new runway was built at al-Tiyas.

AT recent times it was reported that the airbase is believed to be partly under Iranian control and that Iranian troops are present there. It is from Al-Tiyas that planes attacking the positions of the Syrian rebels most often fly.

“Israel believes that the main arrays of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles are deployed there, which, among other things, were shot down over Israeli territory. There command post, there themselves aircrafts and a division of the airfield for technical support,” Murakhovsky explained.

The press service of the Israeli armed forces declined to comment. However, the former chief military intelligence Israel's Amos Yadlin said that the night attack on the Syrian military base should be considered in the context of the Israeli-Iranian confrontation, and here we are talking about a strike with the aim of preventing Iran from transferring weapons to Hezbollah in the first place.

Another Israeli general, former Air Force Commander Eitan Ben Eliyahu also said that Israel is seeking to prevent the concentration of Iranian forces in the area. However, in his opinion, this attack was connected with "the use of poisonous substances in the city of Duma." According to him, only the United States and Israel were capable of inflicting such a strike on the Syrian airbase, but Washington "had no reason to hide the fact of a missile attack." In addition, according to Ben-Eliyahu, the Pentagon had too little time to prepare for such an attack.

The VZGLYAD newspaper details the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian Eastern Ghouta. There is no evidence that the attack took place and that it used chemical weapon, as well as reliable information about who used it, has not yet been presented. However, the United States and Great Britain have already rushed to blame Bashar al-Assad and Russia for everything.

Director of the Center for the Study of the Middle East and Central Asia Semyon Bagdasarov told the VZGLYAD newspaper: “The political prerequisites for the strike are the contradictions between Israel and Iran, the plans of Tehran, Hezbollah and other Shiite formations to reach the Syrian-Israeli border in the region of the province of El Quneitra, to the Golan Heights.”

“It is not known whether there were warehouses there or not, but the Israelis believe that wherever Iranian advisers are present, there are some kind of storage facilities, there are some kind of funds that are subsequently issued to Hezbollah or can be used by the Iranians against Israel. This is the reason why they struck,” the source added.

Recall that in February, the Israeli Air Force at the airbase at-Tiyas. The reason was that an Iranian drone was launched from this base, violating Israeli airspace. During the attack, Syrian air defense shot down an Israeli F-16I fighter-bomber.

“Israeli aircraft attacked Syrian territory more than 100 times last year alone. Attacks are carried out only on the bases of the Iranians, where they are stored different kinds rockets and spare parts for them, which Iran sends to Hezbollah in Lebanon. AT this case warehouses were discovered, which were attacked. This is not the first time and not the second. Russia knows about this,” Yakov Kedmi, former director of the Israeli secret service Nativ, told the VZGLYAD newspaper. At the same time, according to him, Israel has never attacked either the Syrian army, or Iranian advisers, or the Shiite militias, or Hezbollah itself in Syria, but only specific attempts to transfer weapons to Hezbollah. “We do not interfere in all other issues,” the interlocutor emphasized.

The only important difference between the current attack is that the Israelis usually warned Moscow about the planned strikes, but this time, apparently, they did not. Although the US. This is especially critical amid tensions over the US-led campaign around the alleged chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta. Therefore, the Kremlin expressed its bewilderment. Russia is communicating with Israel through the appropriate channels in connection with the attack on the Syrian air base, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The incident, he said, is a cause for concern for the Kremlin.

“There is nothing new in the attack itself as a whole, except for the fact that Russia officially announced an Israeli strike, which it had not done before. The reason is that rumors began to spread that the attack was carried out by American planes, and in order to refute these rumors, Moscow exceptionally stated that Israeli planes did it,” Kedmi said. He also added that there are no special political consequences to be expected here.

* An organization in respect of which a court has made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by the Federal Law "On countering extremist activity"

Image copyright Reuters Image caption An Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed in the north of the country, the pilots ejected, but were injured

Israel has dealt a powerful blow to the Syrian air defense system after an Israeli fighter jet was shot down during an air raid.

According to a senior Israeli Air Force official, General Tomer Bar, this air strike was the most powerful since the war in Lebanon in 1982. At the same time, all the aircraft that took part in the sortie returned safely to base.

Earlier, Israeli aircraft attacked "Iranian targets" in Syria after an Iranian drone launched from Syria was intercepted over the territory of the country. The target of the strikes were drone control systems.

During this attack, Israeli aircraft were fired from air defense systems. As a result, one of the fighters was damaged and crashed in northern Israel. According to the Israeli military, the pilots ejected, but were injured and were hospitalized.

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This is the first Israeli air force casualty since 2006, when Hezbollah fighters shot down an Israeli helicopter over Lebanon with a rocket. At the same time, all five crew members, including the female flight engineer, were killed.

The Syrian authorities have not yet officially commented on the incident. Previously, in similar cases, they accused Israel of aggression and used air defenses, but so far they have not been able to shoot down Israeli fighters.

At the same time, the Syrian state agency SANA, citing an anonymous source, reports that the Syrian air defenses allegedly shot down more than one aircraft. The air defense system repelled an Israeli air force attack on a military base in the center of Syria, the report said.

In March last year, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that in the event of a new shelling anti-aircraft missiles Israeli aircraft, the entire air defense system of Syria will be immediately destroyed.

At that time, Syrian missiles were also fired at Israeli aircraft that attacked Syrian territory. One of the rockets was shot down, the other two fell on Israeli territory. Israeli aircraft were not damaged.

It was reported that Israel then used the Arrow missile defense system in combat conditions for the first time. Now, during the incident with the Iranian drone, an air raid warning system has been activated in some areas of Israel.

Exchange of threats

"The Syrians are playing with fire by allowing the Iranians to attack Israel," warned Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus. He also added that Israel will make the downed plane pay a high price, but is not interested in escalating the situation.

Meanwhile, Iran and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, whose fighters are fighting for Assad's army, have dismissed claims that an Iranian drone entered Israeli airspace as a lie.

In turn, Russia expressed serious concern over the air strikes by the Israeli Air Force and called on all parties to exercise restraint.

What is the Iranian presence in Syria?

Iran remains the main enemy of Israel, while the Iranian military has been fighting since 2011 fighting against anti-government groups in Syria.

Tehran has sent military advisers, volunteers, and, according to some reports, hundreds of professional fighters from the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Syria.

It is also believed that Iran sent thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition to help the Assad regime and the Lebanese Hezbollah militants fighting on its side.

Tehran is accused of not just seeking to increase its influence, but wants to provide ground delivery routes for weapons from Iran to Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.