Israel should fear Iran's military strength – Defence analyst
Iran's distinct advantage lies in its much larger missile system compared to Israel and other Gulf countries, as well as its mastery of drone technology.
SHAH ALAM - Although a large portion of Iran's missile attacks on Israel were successfully intercepted, they demonstrate the military capabilities of the republic, which the Zionist regime should fear.
These attacks also served as a weapon to pressure Israel, which had continuously committed atrocities in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.
When comparing the military capabilities of the two countries, Iran was seen to have many advantages over Israel.
Defence analyst Zaki Salleh said that Iran was the 14th strongest country in the world, compared to Israel, which ranked 17th, and Iran also had the strongest military power in the Gulf region.
He said Iran had over 610,000 troops, not including 350,000 reserve personnel and 220,000 paramilitary members, compared to Israel, which had 170,000 troops, excluding 465,000 reservists and 35,000 paramilitary members.
However, he said that in terms of equipment and defence systems, Israel stayed ahead as it had more advanced and modern technology.
"Israel has 612 aircraft, of which 241 are modern combat aircraft, 146 helicopters and 48 attack helicopters. Meanwhile, Iran has 551 aircraft, including 186 fighter jets, though many of them are older models, along with 102 training aircraft, 129 helicopters and 13 attack helicopters.
"Iran's distinct advantage lies in its much larger missile system compared to Israel and other Gulf countries, as well as its mastery of drone technology.
"In the event of conflict in the Gulf, Iran could deploy armed attack boats to control the Strait of Hormuz, a major trade route," he told Sinar Premium.
Zaki added Israel's recent successful attack on Lebanon, which claimed the life of a Hezbollah leader, indicated that the Zionist regime had a strong intelligence network.
He said that Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, forms the backbone of its defence, with espionage and sabotage operations being carried out effectively.
"With its intelligence network, Israel doesn't need to send troops to high-risk war zones.
"In fact, Israel shocked the world by launching a bombing attack using communication devices such as thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians and Hezbollah military officers in Lebanon last month," he said.
When asked about the possibility of war breaking out between the two countries, Zaki predicted that Israel would not launch a direct counterattack on Iran as the Zionist regime was already engaged in military operations in the West Bank, Gaza and more recently, Lebanon.
He said that Iran fired missiles at Israel in retaliation for the assassination of several senior Hamas leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh and the death of Hezbollah's right-hand man in Lebanon Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
"In fact, Iran's second missile attack on Israel the day before yesterday was a stern warning to Israel to stop the atrocities and massacres they are committing in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.
"In other words, if Israel continues to be defiant, Iran will escalate its attacks on the illegal state in the future," he said.
However, Zaki predicted that Iran's attacks on Israel would not trigger a third world war involving specific blocs of countries as seen during the Gulf War.
