An Israeli source quoted in the Wall Street Journal revealed that in Israel's historic strike in Iran, all four advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile batteries in Tehran were destroyed during the attack.
These were advanced Russian systems, worth approximately $800 million, which were destroyed within hours by the Israeli Air Force, raising questions about the Russian military's ability to defend against missile fire.
Former IDF spokesperson and Commander of Israel's air defense, Brigadier General Ran Kochav, addressed this. In an interview with Radio 103FM, Kochav said: "The Iranian air defense array is a special story, because it has both old American batteries and relatively new batteries - S300 and others that they purchased and received from the Russians, and of course anti-aircraft guns and short-range anti-aircraft systems that were less affected in the recent strike."
He added that when "such an air defense array takes a significant hit, both in its ability to detect and to launch missiles, it peels away some of the Iranian capabilities even before a significant strike if we want one against their surface-to-surface missile production facilities or oil, energy, and other facilities."
Regarding the impact of the Israeli strike on Iran, Kochav said: "It affects the Iranian's consciousness, deterrence, planning and decision-making, and also practically and operationally; how much ammunition do they now have? How can they defend myself if we attack? them Is it worth it their while to counter attack? Can they defend themselves? And also should they attack the Israelis as they attacked at the beginning of the month?"
