“We believe the Iranian regime is trying to develop new weapons capable of reaching 4,000 km, which would represent a total threat.” This was said by IDF spokesperson Nadav Shoshani during a briefing with the Italian press. “It would be a different type of weapon, but even so the issue probably concerns more directly countries like the United Kingdom, France or Spain,” he explained. “Regarding Italy, I believe that even the missiles we see used against Israel, with some adaptations, could still be very lethal and extremely dangerous.”

“Tehran has missiles that can easily reach 2,000 km,” the spokesperson said. “These missiles can carry a very large amount of explosive: the fuel tank alone is bigger than a bus and they can hold up to one ton of explosives. If you reduce the amount of explosive and increase the fuel, they can reach 3,000 km.” “Even at a distance of 3,000 km – which, if my calculations are correct, is more or less the distance to Italy – these missiles can be extremely destructive: as we have seen in Arad and Dimona, 200-300 kilograms of explosives can literally devastate buildings and injure more than 100 people,” he stressed.

“We expected more than 10 missiles a day”

“We expected more from Iran,” Shoshani said during the briefing, noting that Iran’s missile capability has been significantly reduced. “Today they are launching about ten missiles a day, while in June on many days they exceeded 100,” he explained, attributing the drop to the “effective” joint operations by Israel and the United States against Tehran’s ballistic program.

According to Shoshani, the main objective is not only to intercept the missiles but to strike at the source of their production. “We are more interested in production than the missiles themselves,” he said, highlighting that Israel has dealt “a very, very heavy blow” to Iran’s production capacity, which at the start of the conflict amounted to “many tens of missiles per month, according to some even over a hundred.” The spokesperson also assured that Israel “is not in a situation where it believes it lacks the means to defend itself,” while continuing to strengthen ammunition stocks.

Alert remains high. “We have aircraft constantly in the air, which detect and strike them. If it were not so, we would have seen much higher numbers,” he added, stressing that Israel is preparing “for a war with a much higher number of missiles than seen so far.”

“Ready to operate for weeks more”

“We are ready to operate for a few more weeks and to produce a truly lasting change,” the spokesperson said. On the duration of the conflict, Shoshani made clear that “it is for our leadership to decide, although I think that at this point we feel and believe we have achieved very significant results.”

“We are seeing a country in confusion, struggling to function,” he observed about the Iranian regime. “However, we know it is still a very large country,” he added, “with a vast security apparatus. In many cases there are replacements for those who are removed: they do not have the same quality or leadership, but they exist.”

“You can see a country in chaos, but it is a very large, very sophisticated country: this is an enemy eighty times larger than Israel, with a population ten times greater, and a very vast country that has spent most of its resources on its security apparatus,” Shoshani emphasized, while noting that the new leadership is showing “incapacity to coordinate” and the army “struggles to operate.”

“They cannot coordinate volleys of missiles: after the first two days they were no longer able to do so,” the spokesperson said. “Their fire was limited to one, two, maybe three missiles at a time. They cannot carry out coordinated attacks. They have trouble making decisions.” According to Shoshani, Iran made a “grave mistake” by attacking the Gulf countries: “It took them a long time to realize this and for someone to take command and order the generals to stop.”

Skepticism and distrust among Gulf states: “We want to be part of the talks”

Iran has “crossed all red lines,” said the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, in remarks reported by satellite channel al-Jazeera. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman are the GCC countries. And they want to be “associated,” Al-Budaiwi said, “with any talks or agreements aimed at resolving this crisis, so as to contribute to strengthening their security and stability.”

Since the start of the conflict – of Iran’s “response” to operations against Iran launched on February 28 by the US and Israel – the Gulf states have had to spend billions to repel daily attacks from Iran using missiles and drones, not to mention the effects on their economies and sovereignty, the Guardian summarizes, citing analysts who say that what has so far appeared as reluctance to “cheer” alleged efforts toward a ceasefire reflected both the heavy financial burden they continue to bear for the war and the suspicions about Donald Trump’s sincerity regarding the talks. For observers, the lack of clarity about the current alleged negotiations between the US and Iran has led Gulf leaders to be reluctant so far to take the lead in talks. A “high degree of skepticism” was also reported by an Iranian diplomatic source cited by the British newspaper with regard to proposals of meetings in Pakistan.

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