抖阴短视频

LONDON: The month of July has seen multiple attempted missile and drone strikes by Houthi forces on civilian targets in 抖阴短视频.

The latest was a failed attack on July 14, which at once focused global attention on Tehran鈥檚 outsized missile program and highlighted how the regime used its proxy armies and arsenal of weapons to sow chaos across the Middle East.

A 2019 report by the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) laid bare the extent of Iran鈥檚 commitment to its missile program and made it clear that these weapons presented a stark threat to 抖阴短视频 and the wider region.

Iran鈥檚 missile arsenal was by far the largest in the Middle East, the report warned. Run entirely by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and with a price tag (estimated at billions of dollars per year) that was accelerating the collapse of the domestic economy, these weapons were a core part of Iran鈥檚 aggressive foreign policy.

Experts told Arab News that Iran鈥檚 missiles are not only dangerous pieces of weaponry in themselves, but are being held in dangerous hands, and are the pillar of a hostile and belligerent foreign policy.

The threat of the IRGC鈥檚 missiles, analysts and the CSIS report confirmed, could not be underestimated. An all-out missile assault on a nearby country, such as 抖阴短视频 or the UAE, 鈥渨ould overwhelm virtually any missile-defense system,鈥� the CSIS study claimed.

The range of Iran鈥檚 missiles, from roughly 300 km to 2,000 km and above, posed a unique challenge to 抖阴短视频 鈥� especially given Tehran鈥檚 hostility toward the Kingdom 鈥� and also presented a catastrophic threat to states throughout the Middle East.

Ian Williams, deputy director of the CSIS鈥� missile defense project, told Arab News that the ability to overwhelm any air defenses was a central part of the Iranian strategy.

He said Tehran realized that it could not 鈥渙utright defeat the US and GCC (partners), but if they (the Iranians) can make such a conflict painful enough, they can deter external threats in all but the most extreme circumstances.鈥�

As Iran鈥檚 relationships with its neighbors and the US have turned sour, and its economic situation spirals further out of control, the regime has been increasingly preoccupied with its own survival. This has not, however, meant that Iran has taken a step back from its truculent geopolitical posture.

鈥淚ran is using its missiles as a means of power projection. We see this in its missile attacks in Iraq, Syria, and 抖阴短视频,鈥� Williams added.

Tehran had also been upgrading its arsenal in recent years, 鈥渕aking big strides in increasing the accuracy and lethality of its missiles,鈥� he said. 鈥淚ran is increasingly able to use its missiles to make effective attacks on enemy military bases and formations, rather than just a terror weapon to attack cities.鈥�

Dr. Christopher Bolan, professor of Middle East security studies at the US Army War College, said that as sanctions bit and Iran鈥檚 conventional military was undermined by poor leadership, Tehran was increasingly reliant on using and exporting ballistic missiles to its proxy forces throughout the region.

鈥淚ran has equipped several of its closest proxy forces 鈥� the Houthis, Lebanese Hezbollah, and Kata鈥檌b Hezbollah 鈥� with advanced missile capabilities that have been used to strike targets in 抖阴短视频, northern Israel, and in Iraq respectively,鈥� he told Arab News.

鈥淚ran has cultivated a regionwide network of proxy forces that have the potential to inflict significant damage on US or allied interests, with the added advantage of providing Tehran with a degree of cover and plausible deniability.

鈥淚n Iran鈥檚 national security strategy, these proxies are an essential element of deterrence,鈥� Bolan said.

The evidence that Tehran was leaning further into this strategy was abundant. This year, Kata鈥檌b Hezbollah, Iran鈥檚 most powerful ally in Iraq, was suspected of having been responsible for a series of missile attacks in the country, including one that killed two American soldiers and one British service member.

The Sept. 14, 2019, attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais, too, provided ample evidence of how Tehran mobilized its proxy forces to strike terror. Claimed by the Houthi rebels at the time, the sophistication of the attacks meant that they would have been impossible without Iranian assistance and arms.

As Tuesday鈥檚 attempted Houthi strike on the Kingdom demonstrated, these tactics were still being actively pursued by Tehran to this day.

Samuel Hickey, a research analyst at the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, told Arab News: 鈥淚ran often operates in the gray zone between war and peace.

鈥淭his strategy helps Iran further its security goals, while not necessarily provoking direct retaliation,鈥� he said, adding that it also created 鈥渦ncertainty in how adversaries should respond.鈥�

All experts that spoke with Arab News testified to the uniquely difficult task of responding effectively to the Iranian missile threat.

If pushed too hard, they agreed, the Iranians could lay waste to swathes of the Middle East, while likely destroying themselves in the process. But if appeasement continued, there was every indication that the IRGC would continue to destabilize the region, proliferate ballistic missiles, and accelerate its pursuit of nuclear arms.

鈥淭he Iranian missile threat cannot be negated, only mitigated,鈥� Bolan said. The first step, he added, was already in motion, that being 鈥渟trengthening the missile defense capabilities of the Arab Gulf states.鈥�

But he pointed out that improvements were still required in that first line of defense. 鈥淢ore work needs to be done to integrate these disparate national systems into a regional network capable of detection of launches.鈥�

The US, Bolan said, could play a pivotal role in guaranteeing the safety of the Kingdom and wider GCC.

Our enemies should wait to hear further news about long-range missiles and vessels they cannot even imagine...

Brig. Gen. Alireza Tangsiri, IRGC Navy commander

鈥淭he US should continue to bolster the individual national missile defense capabilities of regional allies, and (act as) a primary deterrent to Iranian missile strikes,鈥� he added.

He noted that the US should use its position as a key ally to many states in the Middle East to push for greater integration, which would 鈥渃reate a more effective regionwide missile defense capability.鈥�

As things stood, Tehran continued to put ballistic missiles, and the means to use them, into the hands of terrorists. Individual strikes could come from Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, or Syria, but at the source of every missile fired was Iranian technology and Iranian funding.

Enhanced missile defenses and cooperation between the Kingdom and its allies would mitigate the Iranian threat, but it was clear that, until Tehran gave up its misguided pursuit of regional hegemony, its weapons would pose a constant threat to those that sought stability and prosperity.

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