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Iran’s Paveh 351 cruise missile. (Photo: Amin Ahouei, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“The weapons Iran used on Saturday can travel much farther, and some of them can travel much faster”.

Some of the weapons used by Iran to initiate a barrage of drones and missiles towards Israel were more advanced than what Israel had previously encountered, The New York Times reported.

Israel had previously faced aerial assaults from the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, featuring rockets with limited ranges and accuracy. 

These included short-range rockets from the Grad family, as well as Syrian-manufactured M-302 rockets. 

Additionally, Hamas possessed Fajr-5 rockets from Iran and a locally produced variant, each with a range of approximately 50 miles, according to the report.

“The weapons Iran used on Saturday can travel much farther, and some of them can travel much faster,” according to The New York Times.

Israeli military sources cited in the report stated that the attack comprised 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles, and 110 surface-to-surface missiles, primarily launched from Iran, with a smaller portion originating from Iraq and Yemen.

The report also quoted an X post by Fabian Hinz, an expert on Iran’s military, suggesting that Iran likely deployed the Paveh 351 cruise missile, developed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, boasting a range exceeding 1,200 miles, sufficient to reach Israel from Iran.

“The missile (in different versions) has also been provided to the Yemeni Houthis and the Iraqi PMF,” Hinz added.

Another post, by member of the International Security Advisory Board at the US State Department, Jeffrey Lewis, reportedly identified the use of land-attack cruise missiles by Iran, capable of carrying approximately a ton of explosives. 

What Happened

On Saturday night, the much-anticipated Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel began, Israeli officials told the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN).

The Iranian retaliation was expected following an Israeli aggression that flattened the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1. 

Though Israel has attacked many Iranian targets in the past, the attack on the consulate is an escalation since it targeted a ‘sovereign’ Iranian territory – the diplomatic mission. 

Washington has warned Iran against retaliating, though the Americans failed to condemn the Israeli aggression on Iran, which resulted in the killing of 13 people, including seven military officials. 

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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