Israel’s response to Iran’s unmanned drones will depend on if the drones are traveling for hours to come from Iran or if they were launched by proxy forces elsewhere, such as in Lebanon, former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz told Newsmax on Saturday after news broke of the attack.

“If they’re being shot from Lebanon, it’s a much more serious situation,” Fleitz said on Newsmax’s “Greg Kelly This Week,” responding to reports from the Israeli military that the drones may have been launched from other locations.

“I think it probably means that the drones were also launched from Lebanon to attack Israel from the north,” Fleitz said. “If the drones were launched from Iran, that’s quite a distance to cover. There’s a possibility that drones were also launched from Yemen.”

But if the drones are coming from Iran alone, “there’s lots of time to shoot them down, and they’re almost certainly not going to reach Israel,” said Fleitz.

Meanwhile, such drones can have a range of up to 1,000 miles, which is enough to reach Israel, but “it will take them several hours to get there,” said Fleitz.

Iran also has the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East, he said.

“The purpose of this arsenal is to attack Israel and to eventually carry their warheads, which I don’t believe Iran currently has,” said Fleitz. “But let’s bear in mind, Israel knows Iran has this large missile and drone arsenal and has been preparing for an Iranian attack for a long time. Israel has to take this seriously. I think it’s more than capable of taking out quite a large number of drones.”

According to reports, Iran is also planning to launch possibly up to 100 cruise missiles, which would be harder to take out, but Israel has the capabilities, said Fleitz.

“The reality is that if Iran was to do this, it gives Israel an excuse that [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has been looking for a long time, to strike Iranian soil and take out their nuclear [capabilities], do devastating strikes on their oil facilities,” said Fleitz. “This is a very serious situation and it may turn out very badly for Iran.”

Foreign policy analyst Walid Phares, also on Newsmax on Saturday afternoon, commented that the Iran nuclear deal under former President Barack Obama shifted billions of dollars to Iran, and another deal reached under President Joe Biden added more money to its coffers.

Phares said the worst thing the Biden administration has done has been to send a message to the Iranians by sending money and thus signaling that they can “attack Israel.”

Meanwhile, Israel can counter rockets with the Iron Dome defense, said Phares.

“Remember a week ago, the Israelis have moved a lot of material, including material to the Northern Front,” he said. “They know that this was happening, but more serious ballistic missiles would need 12 minutes from Iran. They have been calculating this.”

NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!

• Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
• Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com

© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.