Iran missile attack: what we learned last night

Mindless march to World War 3 may have hit a brick wall yesterday

During the night of 2nd October 2024, Iran unleashed their operation "True Promise 2," launching between 200 and 400 ballistic missiles into Israel. As the video footage coming from Israel has shown, many of these missiles reached their targets inflicting substantial damage on the ground. Apparently, some offshore gas platforms were also struck. Claims and counterclaims are a bit all over the place at the moment: Israelis have claimed that the Iranian attack failed and that most of the missiles were intercepted. Netanyahu's aide Hananya Naftali even tweeted a "BRAVO" to Israel's aerial defence systems for intercepting "nearly all the missiles."

But the footage from last night gives a very different impression; it corroborates those who claimed that many missiles hit their targets. A few of the videos also confirm that the Iranians do indeed possess hypersonic missiles. We also know now that these have a long range and seem accurate enough. This lesson alone could be a game changer.

Why hypersonic missiles are a game changer

Hypersonic missiles can't be intercepted. The most advanced Western air defence systems can shoot down incoming projectiles flying at up to mach 3. So far as the Patriot Missiles are concerned, their success rate is very poor even at that. Nothing in Western powers' arsenal can defend against hypersonic missiles and this certainly got the Pentagon's attention. The implication is that all US Navy assets and military bases in the Middle East are defenceless, and that Iran has the capability to strike them.

During yesterday's attack, two U.S. destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean launched twelve SM-3 ballistic missile interceptor rockets, their most advanced air defence system. The problem is that the current production rate of SM-3s is down to zero! Thus, even if SM-3s are effective, Western air defence systems are not for the long haul and will deplete rapidly in case of further escalation. 

At the same time, Iran has many thousands of missiles ready. Here's what CSIS says about Irans' arsenal:

"Iran possesses the largest and most diverse missile arsenal in the Middle East, with thousands of ballistic and cruise missiles, some capable of striking as far as Israel and southeast Europe. For the past decade, Iran has invested significantly to improve these weapons' precision and lethality. Such developments have made Iran's missile forces... a credible threat to U.S. and partner military forces in the region.”

Hezbollah can shoot 3,000 missiles a day?

Then there's Hezbollah. According to a 130-page report titled, "The Most Deadly War of All," compiled by a group of six Israeli think-tanks and based on three years of research and the opinions of over 100 Israeli defence experts and IDF commanders, war on Hezbollah would be, as the report's title suggests, the most deadly war of all for Israel. According to the report, Hezbollah would be capable of launching 2,500 to 3,000 missiles per day, a combination of long-range precision guided and unguided rockets.

The barrages would be launched toward specific targets in Israel with the potential of destroying the Iron Dome air-defence capability. IDF's reserves of Iron Dome and David's Sling interceptor missiles would likely be depleted within a few days from the start of a full-scale war with Hezbollah, leaving Israel exposed to thousands of missiles and drones launched by Hezbollah. This all could result in thousands of casualties and widespread panic among the settlement populations (already an estimated 200,000 settlers have abandoned their settlements  in the north of Israel since the start of hostilities).

Not to mention, both Iran and Hezbollah have been preparing for this outbreak for over two decades now, and the Iranians now promised a much more painful strike if Israel decides to escalate further. Western powers won't be able to stem the tsunami that Netanyahu is working to unleash, any more than the Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea has been able to restrain the Ansarallah in Yemen.  But therein lies the good news, I think. 

The good news, inshallah!

Certain political factions in Israel and in the West have been working overtime to provoke a major war and draw in both Iran and the United States. Some of the pro-Israel voices are utterly rapturous about the prospect; the things they say sound utterly deranged and surreal. It’s as though they convinced themselves that Israel is somehow endowed with superpowers and that it can instantly turn anyone they wish into a smoldering heap of ashes. They also seem to think that by killing Hassan Nasrallah, Israel eliminated Hezbollah. They ignore the fact that Hezbollah is a very extensive military and political organization. If the Israelis bombed the Vatican tomorrow and killed the pope, that wouldn't be the end of Catholic Church.

Indeed, very childish and dangerous delusions gripped the most fanatical cohort of Israel supporters and saner heads must by now be aware of the extremely reckless adventure they’re dragging us all into. If a wider war erupts, all of US, UK and NATO assets in the Middle East are sitting ducks and will be destroyed or expelled from the region.

Furthermore, an interruption of crude oil traffic from the Persian Gulf would inflict a devastating blow to G7 economies at a time when they least need it. In addition, all of this could be hitting the proverbial fan just ahead of the elections, and they haven't even managed to assassinate Trump yet! It is all reckless in the extreme; the odds of victory (which is yet to be defined) are slim to none, while a cataclysmic failure is nearly certain. 

I may be succumbing to wishful thinking myself, but I believe that we will shortly see leaders in the West pull hard on the handbrake and effect the quickest 180 degree turn yet! In the end, perhaps they will arrive at the calculation that sacrificing Benjamin Netanyahu and allowing Israel a break so they can sober up and reassess their predicament is a much better deal than following the unhinged fanatics and committing a collective suicide. We'll know soon enough. Who knows, maybe we can avoid World War 3.

Alex Krainer – @NakedHedgie is the creator of I-System Trend Following and publisher of daily TrendCompass investor reports which cover over 200 financial and commodities markets. One-month test drive is always free of charge, no jumping through hoops to cancel. To start your trial subscription, drop us an email at TrendCompass@ISystem-TF.com

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