Posted on 07/26/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
The Trump administration approved Israel's strike on Iran on June 13 but made it clear that the United States would only join the campaign if the attack was successful, Washington Post commentator David Ignatius reported.
Israeli officials cited in the report claimed that, alongside its nuclear bomb project, Iran was also trying to develop an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) bomb, which is detonated at a high altitude and generates a powerful electromagnetic pulse capable of crippling electrical infrastructure in Israel.
According to the report, the Iranian nuclear program was damaged in the attack to the extent that it set it back at least one year, but not several years as Israeli initially claimed.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran was able to identify weaknesses in Israel’s air defense systems during Operation Rising Lion and exploit these gaps to target Israeli civilians and cause casualties.
Experts in missile defense noted that Iran adjusted its tactics during the operation, applying a process of "trial and error" to improve missile launches. Their findings were based on the analysis of missile fragments and impact sites gathered from publicly available data.
The report indicates that this approach allowed Iran to pinpoint vulnerabilities in Israel's defense systems. Over time, Iran launched more advanced missiles with greater range from multiple locations, which reduced the effectiveness of Israel’s defense systems in intercepting the missiles.
As the conflict progressed, experts observed that while fewer missiles were launched, a higher percentage of them successfully hit their targets. They acknowledged that while Israel’s air defense systems are among the most advanced globally, developed with U.S. collaboration, no system is capable of offering complete protection.
Additionally, the report highlighted that during the war, Iran improved the timing and variety of missile launches while expanding the range of its targets, further challenging Israel’s defense capabilities.
In the first half of the war, only 8% of missiles breached Israel’s defenses, but this rate increased to 16% in the second half.