The United States shot down more drones and missiles than Israel did on Saturday night during Iran’s attack, The Intercept can report.

More than half of Iran’s weapons were destroyed by U.S. aircraft and missiles before they ever reached Israel. In fact, by commanding a multinational air defense operation and scrambling American fighter jets, this was a U.S. military triumph.

The extent of the U.S. military operation is unbeknownst to the American public, but the Pentagon coordinated a multination, regionwide defense extending from northern Iraq to the southern Persian Gulf on Saturday. During the operation, the U.S., U.K., France, and Jordan all shot down the majority of Iranian drones and missiles. In fact, where U.S. aircraft originated from has not been officially announced, an omission that has been repeated by the mainstream media. Additionally, the role of Saudi Arabia is unclear, both as a base for the United States and in terms of any actions by the Saudi military.

“U.S. intelligence estimates that half of the weapons fired by Iran failed upon launch or in flight due to technical issues,” a U.S. Air Force senior officer told The Intercept. Of the remaining 160 or so, the U.S. shot down the majority, the officer said. The officer was granted anonymity to speak about sensitive operational matters.

  • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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    8 months ago

    This is a dumb take - I definitely want us to cut off military aide to Isreal that’s used for offensive purposes… but there’s no reason to let Iran bomb Isreal just because we’re pissed off about Palestine. Isreal being forced into a defensive war is only likely to accelerate deaths in Gaza.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      but there’s no reason to let Iran bomb Isreal just because we’re pissed off about Palestine

      So why aren’t we shooting down Israel’s attacks on Gaza?

      You can’t claim we shot these down just to avoid casualties out of respect for life when we’re actively helping commit a genocide.

      At least not if you want to convince anyone of anything logically.

      • OutsizedWalrus@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Well, for one, we don’t have bases positioned in the vast expanse between……checks….Israel and Gaza.

        I believe most of these shootdowns came from the Red Sea, Iraq, and Syria’s.

        • Not_mikey@slrpnk.net
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          8 months ago

          The u.s. could easily enforce a no-fly zone over gaza and implement an iron dome to intercept missiles going either way instead of just protecting israel.

          If the u.s wanted this to stop they could, it’s not a matter of ability, it’s a matter of will.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          What bases do we have between Iran and Israel?

          There’s one “base” in Israel…

          https://apnews.com/general-news-2ccf317f293d4be59b92cec5554c3db4

          Which exists inside of what was already an Israeli air base, is under control of Israel, and was only put there in name by trump so the US would have an excuse to attack anyone that attacks Israel.

          Like, this shit isn’t ancient history, but I’m constantly surprised on here that I’m the only one who remembers stuff from the last decade.