Hyperattack: what new weapon did Iran use to attack Israel
Tehran launched 400 rockets into Israel, most of them were repelled, however, there are isolated cases of hitting residential buildings, IDF spokeswoman Anna Ukolova told Izvestia. On June 17, Iran announced that it had used a new missile in an attack on Israel, analysts believe that this is the first time Tehran has used hypersonic weapons — its maneuverability and speed make it difficult to repel such attacks. The IDF, in turn, reported on the elimination of another Iranian high—ranking military, as well as large-scale strikes on dozens of launchers and warehouses for surface-to-surface missiles. Whether there is still a possibility of a diplomatic settlement of the crisis and what goals the United States is pursuing — in the Izvestia article.
The conflict between Israel and Iran: the latest news
On the fourth day of the Iran-Israel conflict, the IDF announced the assassination of Ali Shadmani, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Emergency Management Center of the Iranian Armed Forces. He became the 14th representative of the military establishment of the Islamic Republic to die during the operation of the Jewish state. His predecessor was assassinated just a few days ago. At least 300 civilians were killed in three days, Kazem Jalali, the Islamic Republic's ambassador to Moscow, said on June 17. Media reports also said that ex-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was killed in the assassination attempt, however, this information was later denied.
On the night of June 17, the Israeli Air Force launched several large—scale strikes against military installations in western Iran, attacking dozens of launchers and warehouses for surface-to-surface missiles.
A damaged building at the Bid Kaneh military facility
During Operation Rising Lion against Iran's nuclear program, Israel managed to damage at least 15,000 centrifuges at the largest underground uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. As previously noted by the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, there is a possibility of radiological and chemical contamination at the facility.
At the same time, the head of the Israeli military intelligence directorate, Shlomi Binder, said that his subordinates would soon have to operate on a larger scale in Iran.: "You have obtained data that paved the way to Tehran and allowed you to strike at the Iranian high command. Soon you will start operating in other areas as well. You have proved that you can break through boundaries and achieve any goal," The Times of Israel quoted him as saying.
The development of the Iran-Israel conflict is on the path of galloping escalation, the level of its unpredictability is absolute, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 17. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Israel's attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities in Iran are illegal and are pushing the world towards a nuclear catastrophe.
During the escalation, Iran has fired more than 400 missiles and hundreds of UAVs at the territory of the Jewish state, IDF spokeswoman Anna Ukolova told Izvestia. The head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic called on residents of Israeli Tel Aviv and Haifa to leave these cities. Tehran attacked the Israeli military intelligence building and the Mossad headquarters, killing many Israeli officers and soldiers. More than 640 people were injured by the Iranian attacks, 24 were killed, said Dmitry Gendelman, an adviser in the office of the Israeli Prime Minister. On the night of June 17 alone, the Israeli military recorded the launch of 30 rockets, most of which were eliminated.
"Hundreds of high-precision long-range drones with tremendous destructive power have successfully hit the [warehouses] of weapons and strategic targets of the Zionist regime (Israel. — Ed.) in the occupied territories, including Tel Aviv and Haifa," said Major General Kiyumars Heidari, commander of the ground forces of the Army of the Islamic Republic.
Most of the rockets and drones fired at Israeli territory have been eliminated, however, there are isolated cases of hitting residential buildings, since no air defense system can provide airtight protection, Ukolova said.
— We have no task to "respond" to Iran's threats or to the use of one type or another of missiles. Our goal is to eliminate the threat posed by the Iranian regime in principle. To do this, we carry out preventive strikes on facilities in Iran, which include missile launchers, warehouses, and production sites for missiles and UAVs, as well as carry out precise and targeted liquidations of command personnel," said Anna Ukolova. — Our defense system has several stages — preventive strikes and air defense systems. For many years, we have been following how Iran is developing both its military industry and its nuclear program. And, hearing the threats of their leaders in our direction, we prepared to repel their attacks.
Iran used a new missile in attacks on Israel
On the morning of June 17, the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) announced the beginning of a new wave of rocket attacks on Israel, calling it more powerful and destructive than before.
Opening ceremony of the Fattah hypersonic missile
"During today's attack by the armed forces on the Zionist regime (meaning Israel. A new missile was used, which, as the Zionists said, they did not notice at all before it hit," the Tasnim news agency quoted the Iranian Defense Ministry as saying.
Analysts suggest that Tehran could have used a Fattah hypersonic missile for this attack.
Only a few countries in the world have hypersonic missiles — Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, military expert Dmitry Lyamin told Izvestia.
— Now such weapons are considered to be systems that can not only fly at hypersonic speed, but also perform maneuvers, — the expert noted.
According to him, Iran has at least two hypersonic missiles — Fattah-1 and Fattah-2. The first of them was introduced in the early 2020s. It is made on the basis of a solid-fuel ballistic missile already in service, which has been modified and received a hypersonic warhead. This warhead is equipped with thrust vector-controlled engines, which allows it to maneuver.
— Not so long ago, the Iranian leadership showed the Fattah-2, a missile with a hypersonic gliding warhead. She must perform more complex maneuvers — not just to dodge to the sides during the flight, but also to change altitude. This maneuverability, as well as, of course, speed, make it very difficult to intercept such ammunition. The flight path of a conventional ballistic missile can be calculated and caught at a certain distance. It is impossible to do this with hypersonic missiles. Due to these features, they effectively overcome the enemy's air defenses," said Dmitry Lyamin.
The expert stressed that the exact number of such missiles in service with Iran is unknown — this information is classified.
— We can say with a high degree of confidence that more Fattah-1 has been produced, it has been produced longer, — said Yuri Lyamin.
It is also possible that Tehran possesses a hypersonic missile, which has not been previously reported.
"In Iran, different teams are working on a particular weapon system, it is possible that not only the creators of Fattah, but also their competitors have successfully worked," the expert comments. — Their rocket could have been put into service, but not officially shown.
Missile programs are actively developing in Iran, and the country's leadership has never hidden this, military expert Vadim Kozyulin told Izvestia.
"It is highly likely that a hypersonic missile with a gliding block was launched at Israel," the expert believes. — Iran liked to boast about its weapons and say that it has systems that neither the Russians nor the Americans have. The officials who have now died said that their rockets can reach speeds of mach 20 and maneuver in space. Their speeches were received with a degree of skepticism. But since Iran invested in the systems, it received the latest technology.
The Khorramshahr fourth-generation ballistic missile called Khaybar
The expert believes that the missiles could have been created jointly with North Korea, perhaps some developments were obtained from Pakistan, which could have received them from China. Iran also actively invested in the safety of missile systems.
"There are videos of large underground cities with rocket launchers in tunnels," the expert reminded.
Prospects for the start of negotiations
Israel is not conducting any negotiations on the settlement of the conflict with Iran, and will not allow harm to be inflicted on the citizens of the Jewish state, the country's Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said on June 17. Speaking about the potential for the United States to be involved in the conflict, the defense minister said that his country would be grateful for any help. In the evening, Fox News reported: the United States is deploying additional fighter jets to the Middle East and extending the deployment of aviation forces there.
Such statements come amid reports that Washington is considering the possibility of transferring bunker buster bombs to Israel as a lever of pressure on Iran. The Axios portal writes about this with reference to sources. Such bombs are necessary to destroy Iran's underground Fordo nuclear facility. In addition, the portal confirmed information spread by a number of American media outlets that the White House is discussing with Tehran the possibility of a meeting this week between special envoy of the US President Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Donald Trump said on June 17 that he had not established contact with Iran in order to normalize the situation in the Middle East. The American leader also said that if the Iranians want to talk, "they know how to find him." The Republican expressed the hope that Iran's nuclear program would be destroyed before the United States intervened in resolving the conflict. Trump also said that he demands unconditional surrender from Tehran, and he allegedly knows the whereabouts of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Meanwhile, Turkey and Qatar are already working to end the conflict between Iran and Israel. In a conversation with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the spiral of violence threatens the security of the entire region. The Turkish leader stated that the only way to resolve the conflict is to return to the negotiating table.
At the same time, Qatar, according to the official representative of the country's Foreign Ministry, Majid bin Mohammed al-Ansari, is cooperating with its partners, including the United States, to find ways to resolve the conflict between Iran and Israel.
Tehran itself is also ready to return to diplomacy, but on condition that Israel stops the attacks, writes The Washington Post. Iran's position, according to one official, is characterized as follows: "We have never left the negotiating table, but no negotiations while we are under fire."
"Iran is based on the thesis that it is on the defensive in this conflict, since it was the Israelis who struck the first blow in a new round of escalation," orientalist Leonid Tsukanov told Izvestia. — Therefore, the willingness to negotiate and at the same time the intention to respond to attacks symmetrically (or with some increase) are quite consistent with each other. In addition, it is clearly not in the interests of Tehran to provoke the global majority to change its position towards Iran and its nuclear sector in a negative direction. Therefore, the country leaves room for diplomacy. However, so far mostly behind the scenes.
According to the expert, the freezing of the conflict and the formation of a new status quo are possible when both sides reach a situation where the resources expended will not be enough to inflict more convincing damage to the enemy, and neither Iran nor Israel will want to move to a new level of escalation, for example, to ground battles.
— The parties are gradually approaching this mark — the media effect of missile and bomb attacks is declining, and the effect of the use of new types of weapons is short-lived. At the same time, direct negotiations from Iran and Israel should not be expected. The scenario with the Lebanese campaign is more likely to repeat. Both sides will announce the achievement of the results of their operations (simultaneously appointing themselves winners in the conflict) and will return to the tactics of rare exchanges of single strikes," he says.
Tsukanov sums up: the strength of such agreements will depend entirely on the efforts and authority of international mediators.
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