Israel has degraded Iran's Missile Infra and neutralised early warning system

In just four days of fighting, Teheran sees its regional power stature disrupted

- BY ASAD MIRZA

Iran and Israel continued their military strikes against each other for a fourth straight day (June 16). Last night, Iran targetted the northern Israeli port city of Haifa. As Israel's defence system intercepted Iran's ballistic missiles, two hyper sonic missiles reportedly hit Haifa, causing several injuries, according to Israel's public broadcaster Kan. However, during these ongoing attacks and counter attacks, the moot question is where Iran faltered in securing the security and defence structure of its nuclear and military installations.

On June 13, the Islamic Republic of Iran experienced a strategic collapse that altered the balance of power in the Middle East. Israel eliminated key Iranian military and scientific personnel, degraded the country's missile infrastructure, and neutralised its early-warning systems. But more consequentially, Israel's strike - dubbed Operation Rising Lion-shattered the Iranian regime's confidence in its own security apparatus.

An analysis by Zaineb Riduoa for the Washington-based Hudson Institute says that reportedly, Israel prepared for the operation over years of sustained intelligence preparation, real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and deep infiltration. Israeli military planners achieved full-spectrum disruption by dismantling and infiltrating Iran's command and control networks, severing high-level communications, and injecting uncertainty into the regime's decision-making processes.

By the time Tehran could react, the damage was already done. Its upper command was wiped out, and its defensive systems were disabled. Crucially, Israel did not rely on cross-border operations. It had pre-positioned remote-activated strike platforms inside Iran and deployed them with surgical precision. This shows its preparations and depth of its infiltration of the Iranian security apparatus.