Satellite photos suggest Iranian air defense radar in Isfahan hit in apparent Israeli attack

Jon Gambrell
| Associated press

Jerusalem – Satellite photos taken Monday suggest that an apparent Israeli retaliatory strike targeting Iran’s central city of Isfahan hit a Russian-made air defense battery radar system, contradicting repeated denials by officials in Tehran of any damage in the attack.

The attack on an S-300 radar, in what appears to have been a very limited attack by the Israelis, would cause far more damage than the massive drone-and-missile attack that Iran unleashed on Israel on April 13. That may be why Iran Officials up to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have tried to debunk discussion of what the attack actually did to Iranian soil.

Analysts believe that both Iran and Israel, regional archrivals that have been locked in a shadow war for years, are now trying to reduce tensions after a series of escalating attacks between them, while the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues to rage and sets the wider region on fire. But an attack on the most advanced air defense system Iran possesses and uses to protect its nuclear sites sends a message, experts say.

“This attack demonstrates that Israel has the ability to penetrate Iran’s air defense systems,” said Nicole Grajewski, a fellow in the Carnegie Endowment’s nuclear policy program who wrote a forthcoming book on Russia and Iran. “The accuracy of it was quite remarkable.”

Planet Labs PBC satellite images taken Monday morning near Isfahan airport and air base, some 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of Tehran, showed a nearby area that served as a deployment point for the air defense system. There are burn marks around what analysts including Chris Biggers, a consultant and former government imagery analyst, had previously identified as a “flap member” radar system used for the S-300.

Less detailed satellite images taken after Friday showed similar burn marks in the area, although it was not clear what was at the site. Biggers said other components of the missile system appear to have been removed from the site – even though they provide defensive cover for Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz.

“That’s a powerful statement considering the system, the location and the way they use it,” Biggers wrote.

On Friday, Iran’s air defenses opened fire and grounded commercial flights in much of the country. Officials in the aftermath tried to downplay the attack, trying to describe it as just a series of small drones flying through the sky.

“What happened… was not a strike,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian claimed in an interview with NBC News. “They looked more like toys our kids play with – not drones.”

However, in the aftermath of the attack, Iraqis found what appeared to be remnants of surface-to-air missiles south of Baghdad. That, combined with a suspected Israeli attack on a radar station in Syria on the same day, suggests that Israeli fighter jets flew over Syria into Iraq and then fired so-called ‘standoff missiles’ at Iran before attacking Isfahan. Small drones with shorter ranges may also have been launched – Israel may have launched sabotage attacks and other missions inside Iran.

Still, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani reiterated Tehran’s denial on Monday.

“Relevant authorities have announced that this intimidation has not caused any damage and that Iran’s defense system has carried out its duties,” Kanaani told journalists at a briefing. “Therefore, in our view, this issue is not worth addressing.”

The S-300 and their years-delayed delivery to Iran highlight the challenge Tehran faces in bringing foreign-made advanced weapons systems into the country. Russia and Iran initially struck a deal worth $800 million in 2007, but Moscow suspended their supply three years later over strong objections from the United States and Israel.

After Iran reached its nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, Russia canceled the deal and is believed to have given Iran four sets of an export variant of the S-300.

The relationship between Iran and Russia has deepened in recent years. Moscow is relying heavily on Iran’s Shahed drones carrying bombs to target locations across Ukraine as part of its war against the country. These same drones were also seen in the Islamic Republic’s attack on Israel.

Tehran has repeatedly commented in recent years about efforts to obtain Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia to upgrade its decades-old fighter fleet. In September, a Russian-made YAK-130 fighter trainer aircraft entered service in Iran. That model can be used to train pilots for the Su-35.

Russia now has the S-400, but the S-300, which has a range of up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) and the ability to track and attack multiple targets simultaneously, remains one of the most powerful air defense weapons in the world world. world. The batteries can be used to shoot down both missiles and aircraft.

Iran will likely need Russian help to repair the damaged radar — and will look for newer weapons as time goes on, Grajewski said.

“Iran constantly wants new weapons from Russia – to try to show that the country is not so isolated,” she said.

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