Israeli security officials have acknowledged a state of “security confusion” following recent regional strikes, admitting that Iran’s high level of preparedness caught the Israeli defense system off guard. According to a report in Israel Hayom, the possibility of an Iranian response to the targeting of Beirut’s southern suburbs was considered highly likely before the operation was carried out yet the army’s readiness was delayed for reasons that remain unclear, leading to a rapid escalation of events.
Some assessments within the Israeli occupation military establishment believed there was more time to prepare. However, Iran’s preparedness meant a missile launch was a matter of “minutes,” forcing the Israeli army to urgently raise its alert level and issue a last-minute warning to the public after detecting launch sites being readied.
In a striking admission, the newspaper quoted military affairs analyst Yoav Limor as saying that the attacks targeting Iran failed to achieve the desired deterrence. He noted that Tehran is experiencing a “state of euphoria” after withstanding weeks of confrontation.
According to Limor, the prevailing sentiment within Iran is that it emerged from the confrontation stronger strategically, despite suffering military strikes while ‘Israel’ and the United States, as he put it, emerged weaker than before the escalation. He attributed this also to the “hesitant American stance” in managing negotiations, threats not backed by practical steps, and pressure from Gulf states, which fear the repercussions of any escalation on their infrastructure.
The report added that security officials expressed frustration with the new reality on the ground, which they described as Iran’s ability to impose a deterrent equation: any attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs could be met with a missile response from Iran and possibly from Yemen as well.
Source: Israeli media (translated and edited by Al-Manar English Website)