RT reported that the red flag of revenge was raised by Iran over the sacred Jamkaran Mosque after the Israeli attack.
Iran has raised a red flag over the dome of the Jamkaran Mosque. The red flag in Shiite tradition is a symbol of bloodshed and injustice and is seen as a call for revenge.
The flag was raised after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel would face harsh retaliation. Khamenei confirmed that several officials and scientists had been killed in the air strikes.
According to the 2024 Global Firepower Index, the Israeli and Iranian militaries are not too far apart in terms of overall military strength.
Iran is ranked 14th in the global rankings, followed by Israel in 17th place.
The index also includes a direct comparison between the two armed forces. According to the New York Times, Iran has the numerical advantage with at least 580,000 active troops and about 200,000 well-trained reservists, while Israel has 169,500 active troops and 465,000 reservists.
The number of tanks and armored vehicles is similar. Iran has 1,996 tanks and Israel has 1,370, including the Merkava, considered the best designed and most armored main battle tank in the world.
However, given the geographical situation, these are not the most relevant factors in the event of an armed conflict between Israel and Iran.
The two countries are separated by neighboring countries such as Iraq and Jordan, and the distance between Jerusalem and Tehran is about 1,850km.
“In reality, a conflict would not take the form of a classical war, but would be a long-distance engagement,” said Fabian Hinz, a Middle East expert at the IISS.
He added that an armed conflict between Israel and Iran would be fought primarily by air.
Air Force plays an important role
According to the Global Power Index, Israel clearly outnumbers Iran in terms of air power. In total, the Israeli military is equipped with 612 combat aircraft, while Iran has 551.
In addition to numbers, the quality of military aircraft is also an important factor, Hinz told DW . Israel possesses some of the most advanced fighter jets in the world, such as the F-15, F-16 and the F-35 stealth fighter.
In the event of a conflict, air power would play a crucial, perhaps even decisive, role for Israel.
“However, on Iran’s side, the aircraft are of little significance as it is almost impossible to renew the fleet due to sanctions,” he said, adding that Iran was able to buy some aircraft in the 1990s and now wants to buy some Russian-made aircraft.
“But fundamentally, they knew they couldn’t keep up with the Israeli air force,” said Mr. Hinz.
That is why Tehran has focused so much on developing missiles and drones. But there are still questions about its ability to withstand Israeli airstrikes. “I don’t think it will be very successful,” Hinz said, adding that “Iran does not have a strong defense shield.”
No absolute protection is possible.
But recent Iranian drone and missile attacks have shown where Israel needs to improve, said Alexander Grinberg, an Iran expert at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic and Security Studies.
“In principle, it is quite easy to shoot down such UAVs, because they are not very fast,” he told DW , adding that this could even be done with a simple machine gun.
However, it is not only the type of UAV but also the number that matters.
“Whether you fire 300 or 3,000 missiles, eventually some will always penetrate the defense shield, which is why the hit rate is not 100 percent but around 99 percent,” he said, stressing that “this makes it even more important to have a functioning domestic civil defense system, or in other words an early warning system and air defense shelters.”
Iran’s missile arsenal is considered quite powerful. The International Institute for Strategic Studies has reported that Iran has one of the largest arsenals of ballistic missiles and drones in West Asia, including cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles, as well as ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 2,000km. They have the capability and range to strike any target, covering all of Israel.
