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Details of how the United States, France and Great Britain helped in intercepting over 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran in the late hours of Saturday in Israel have emerged.
Even Jordan, which has vehemently criticised the Jewish nation over the military onslaught in Gaza war, took out some drones.
Military authorities in Isreal said on Sunday that “99%” of projectiles fired by Iran were intercepted by Israel and its partners, with only “a small number” of ballistic missiles reaching Israel.
Israel is “working closely” with the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, adding that all three “acted” during the Iranian strikes.
“We are working closely with the US, UK and France who acted tonight. This partnership has always been close, but tonight it manifested itself in an unusual way,” he said, CNN reported.
The IDF said the Iranian attack, the Islamic Republic’s first direct assault on Israel, comprised some 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles
Israel hailed its successful air defences that thwarted 99 per cent of 300 drones and missiles launched towards its territory.
But this would have been a bigger problem without the support of its allies and a neighbour, Jordan.
In a call, US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the interceptions constituted a win for Israel as nothing of “value” was hit, a senior US administration official told CNN.
US officials said more than 70 drones and three ballistic missiles were intercepted by US Navy ships and military aircraft, without giving exact details of what defenses were used to bring down the projectiles.
The US Navy shot down at least three ballistic missiles using the Aegis missile defense system aboard two guided-missiles destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, officials told CNN’s Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon.
US warplanes also shot down Iranian ordnance. While it was not revealed from where those US jets operated, there are US Navy aircraft carriers and land-based aircraft well within range of the region.
Biden said in a statement the US was well-prepared to help defend Israel against the Iranian attack.
“To support the defense of Israel, the US military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,” the US president said in a statement.
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“Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” Biden said.
Britain said it was also prepared to intervene using Royal Air Force aircraft it has in the region.
“These UK jets will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions, as required,” a Defense Ministry statement said.
Meanwhile, Jordan also assisted in taking out some Iranian drones, according to security sources cited by the news agency Reuters. They shot down projectiles that violated its airspace and were heading to Israel.
The Iranian drones were brought down on the Jordanian side of the Jordan Valley. They were heading towards Jerusalem. Others were intercepted close to the Iraqi-Syrian border.
According to a statement by the Jordanian Cabinet, the country intercepted some flying objects that entered its airspace to ensure the safety of its citizens. “Some shrapnel fell in multiple places during that time without causing any significant damage or any injuries to citizens,” it added.
Regional security sources said the Jordanian army was on high alert and radar systems were monitoring any drone activity coming from the direction of Iraq and Syria, reports The Times of Israel.
A security source said the country’s air force was intensifying reconnaissance flights. Jordan earlier said it had closed its airspace starting on Saturday night to all incoming, departing, and transiting aircraft, in what officials told Reuters were precautionary measures in the event of an Iranian strike across its border.
“The relevant authorities took the decision to close the airspace for precautionary reasons as a result of the surrounding security situation,” Jordan’s government spokesman Muhannad Mubaideen said.
Mr Mubaideen denied media reports that the kingdom had announced a state of emergency, adding that its citizens had no cause for concern.
Jordan borders Syria and Iraq, both countries where Iranian proxy forces operate, and is next door to Israel and the West Bank. It has closely watched the Israel war against Hamas, an ally of Iran, with the fear of getting caught in the crossfire.
