170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. On the night of Saturday April 13, the armada deployed by Iran to attack its long-time enemy, Israel, was stopped in its tracks: 99% of the projectiles were stopped, and only “a small number” reached Israel, according to the army. But this impressive result owes in large part to American aid: according to CNN, more than 70 drones and three ballistic missiles were intercepted by US Navy ships and military aircraft.
Two American ships present in the Eastern Mediterranean, theUSS Arleigh Burke and theUSS Carney, first destroyed half a dozen missiles, before planes came into action. A battery of Patriot missiles shot down another cruise missile not far from the Iraqi city of Erbil, in Kurdistan. US forces also destroyed “a ballistic missile on its launch vehicle and seven drones destroyed on the ground before their launch in areas of Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis,” US Army Central Command said (Centcom). “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skills of our military, we helped Israel destroy almost all incoming drones and missiles,” said Joe Biden, recalling his “unwavering” support for his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, during a phone call a few hours after the attack.
Real-time information
It must be said that the American president spent Saturday evening following the events live in the famous “Situation Room”, the situation room of the White House. “We estimate that more than a hundred missiles were on approach at the same time, at any given time. The results of the defensive measures were of course unclear until it was all over,” said an official on site. , to describe the atmosphere of tension.
Before the Iranian attack, U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, remained “in constant contact” with Israel as well as other countries in the region. Because senior American officials had been kept informed of the attack on Damascus during a visit by the ambassador and the Israeli military attaché to the White House, according to an American administration official. “We did not participate in this strike but we knew that it would have consequences,” he declared in particular.
General Erik Kurilla, head of the military command in charge of the Middle East, therefore visited the site several times, providing real-time information while ensuring coordination with Israel and other regional partners. The United States was also in contact with Iran, via “a series of direct communications relayed by Switzerland”, added an American official.
A delicate position
This conflict, however, places Joe Biden in a delicate position. “He is wary of the motivations of Netanyahu, who is trying to extend the war to the entire region to distract attention from the war which is going badly for him in Gaza”, analyzes Colin Clarke, research director, for AFP at the Soufan Group. “Biden is trying to restrict Israel, but Netanyahu has already shown that he is willing to test whatever limits Biden wants to impose,” says James Ryan, executive director of the Middle East Research and Information Project.
Caught by the left, which denounces the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, as well as by the right, for its supposed “weakness” denounced by his Republican rival Donald Trump, Joe Biden is thus playing the balancing act, in the middle of the electoral campaign. “The president has been clear: we do not want an escalation. We do not want an extended war with Iran,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John John clarified on Sunday. Kirby.