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Iranian Missile Capability 'Severely Damaged' After Israel Launched 100+ Warplanes to Strike Targets

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Two days after Israel's historic strike on Iran, the Middle East is still processing its impact. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the attack on Iran was precise, powerful, and achieved all of its goals.

"We severely damaged Iran's defense capacity and the ability to produce missiles aimed at us," he said.

Three waves of attacks, involving more than 100 warplanes, struck targets over 1,000 miles from Israel. However, the IDF Chief of Staff noted that Israel used only a fraction of its capabilities.

Satellite images reveal extensive damage to key Iranian military installations, potentially delaying Iran's ballistic missile production for years. Israel also dismantled air defenses in Iraq, Syria, and Iran, including advanced S-300 and S-400 systems.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman sees this as a powerful message to Iran. "Most importantly, it's sending the message to Iran. Anytime, we want. We gotcha,” Friedman told CBN News. “And we didn't do it this time but keep it up, keep up this nuclear program and you'll see us in the near future."

Saudi Arabia condemned the attack but did not directly mention Israel.

"The Arab world is condemning publicly, the GCC, the Arab League condemning the attack publicly. But the secret of the Middle East is don't listen to what people say, watch what they do," said Dr. Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.

Diker states that Israel is emerging as the "strong horse" in the Middle East.

"The Arab world knows that what Israel just did to the Iranian regime, and what it did to Hamas, and to Hezbollah by killing off their leadership and decimating their command structure is to actually kill the arch enemy of the very Arab nations that were condemning Israel,” Diker told CBN News.

Iran responded with a mix of bluster and restraint. The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened, "The consequences of the attack in Iran will be unimaginable for the state of Israel." 

Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, however, offered a measured response. "Iran is not looking for war but is obliged to respond appropriately to the Israeli attack,” Pezeshkian said.

But there’s also a hint—delivered by this Iranian newsreader—that rather than keep up these tit-for-tat strikes and counterstrikes, Iran might rather work towards a ceasefire to halt the fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon.

On Sunday, the day of the official memorial ceremony for soldiers and those who battled the enemy and have fallen since the October 7th massacre, Israeli President Isaac Herzog hailed those who fought on that day.

“The most moving faces of the Israeli mosaic, Jews and Druze, Christians and Muslims, from various perspectives and ways of life—who sought to protect the State of Israel and its citizens, with devotion, determination, and a sense of unmatched mission and who fell while standing guard on that dreadful day and in the war that followed—across the South, the North, Judea and Samaria, and in every part of our homeland,” Herzog told bereaved family members and the rest of the country.

In the ongoing battle, the Israeli police suspect terrorism after a truck rammed into a crowd at a bus stop near Herzliya on Sunday morning, killing one and injuring more than 30 people. The bus stop was near the IDF’s Glilot base.

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About The Author

CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief

In a time where the world's attention is riveted on events in the Middle East, CBN viewers have come to appreciate Chris Mitchell's timely reports from this explosive region of the world. Mitchell brings a Biblical and prophetic perspective to these daily news events that shape our world.

Chris first began reporting on the Middle East in the mid-1990s. He repeatedly traveled there to report on the religious and political issues facing Israel and the surrounding Arab states. One of his more significant reports focused on the emigration of persecuted Christians from the Middle East.

In the past, Chris's reporting has been distinguished by award-winning coverage of revival movements and other spiritual issues. In addition to the Brownsville revival in Pensacola, Fla., he also covered an outbreak of revival in Missouri. His report on the "holy laughter" revivals in Toronto and London was named CBN's "Focus Story of the Year" in 1994.

That same year, Chris also earned a "Short Story of the Year" award for his examination of religious coverage in network news. He has also reported on such movements as the Promise Keepers and the annual "Prayer and Fasting" campaign led by the late Campus Crusade founder Dr. Bill Bright.

In addition to his reports for The 700 Club, Chris is also a regular contributor to Christian World News, a weekly 30-minute newscast that airs nationally in multiple markets.

Prior to joining CBN News in 1992, Chris worked for three years as a researcher, producer, and reporter for the Features/Testimonies department of The 700 Club.

A native of the Boston area, Chris earned a B.A. in History at the University of New Hampshire in 1975. In 1987, he graduated with honors from Regent University, earning an M.A. in Communication. While a student at Regent (then CBN University), Chris anchored "Newsight," a student-produced Christian news program.

Chris's goal at CBN News is to provide in his stories the Biblical "understanding of the times" described in I Chronicles 12:32.