Washington is reportedly considering aiding the Jewish state in striking Iran, which has warned it would retaliate
Israel’s air defenses can intercept Iranian ballistic missiles at its current pace for less than two more weeks without significant additional supplies from the US or its direct involvement, the Washington Post reports.
Tehran has launched multiple waves of drones and missiles at Israel since the Jewish state struck Iran last Friday, framing the attack as a preemptive move to stop the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear bomb. US forces are reportedly assisting Israel in intercepting incoming projectiles. President Donald Trump has said that the US may join Israel’s bombing campaign but hasn’t made a final decision. Iran has warned the US that any involvement would result in “irreparable” damage.
Intercepting Iranian missiles and drones has been costly for West Jerusalem, WaPo wrote on Tuesday. The cost of missile defense could be running as high as $285 million per night, according to Israeli media.
Given the current pace of Iranian attacks, Israel can only maintain its current level of air defense for 10 to 12 more days without resupplies from the US, or even deeper involvement by American forces, WaPo wrote, citing an anonymous source. West Jerusalem may need to begin rationing its air defense missiles as early as the latter part of this week, it added.
“They will need to select what they want to intercept,” the newspaper cited the anonymous source as saying. “The system is already overwhelmed.”
Israel has a layered air defense shield with multiple systems but relies on the Arrow system to shoot down heavy Iranian ballistic missiles. While efficient against rockets fired by Hamas, Israel’s famed ‘Iron Dome’ is ineffective against Iran’s heavier ballistic missiles, WaPo wrote, citing Israeli missile expert Tal Inbar.
According to former senior Pentagon adviser Dan Caldwell, West Jerusalem’s Arrow and David’s Sling units likely used up many of its interceptors to counter attacks from the Houthis and Iran earlier this year, while noting that these missiles are expensive and take a long time to produce.
“It is therefore likely that Israel and the US are going to have to start rationing their interceptors soon (if they haven’t already),” the former defense official wrote on X on Monday.
Since Tuesday, Trump has repeatedly demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender,” boasting that the US has uncontested control of Iranian airspace, while suggesting that killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would be “easy.” Multiple media outlets have suggested that the US president may join the Israeli campaign against Iran at any moment.
Tehran has declared that it will “not capitulate to anyone in the face of coercion” and threatened to retaliate against any attack.
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