Israeli military says it has degraded Iran’s ability to launch large barrages of ballistic missiles
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond
The Israeli military assesses that it has significantly degraded Iran’s ability to fire large barrages of missiles toward Israel, according to an Israeli military official.
Iran is now firing smaller barrages of missiles following six days of Israeli airstrikes that have destroyed large numbers of ballistic missile launchers, disrupted the Iranian military’s command structure and sent Iran scrambling to move its missile assets further east, the official told CNN.
The latest Iranian ballistic missile launch at Israel on Wednesday evening consisted of a single missile, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The Israeli military has now destroyed approximately 40% of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers, the official said.
Israel has also killed senior Iranian commanders responsible for air defense, which the official said has disrupted Iran’s ability to effectively coordinate its missile launches.
And with Israeli jets now operating freely over the skies of western Iran following strikes to air defense assets, Iran has sought to move many of its ballistic missile launchers east.
The Israeli military has also actively disrupted Iranian missile launches in progress. “When we see them, we fire at them,” the Israeli military official said.
Still, Israel does not know whether Iran’s capabilities have been permanently degraded and that Iran won’t soon again be able to resume larger barrages.
