Who is more militarily powerful, Israel or Iran?

 Who is more militarily powerful, Israel or Iran?

 

On the morning of February 28, Israel launched what the Israeli defense minister called a “preemptive strike” against Iran.

The Israeli strikes came as diplomatic efforts between US and Iranian officials to limit Iran’s nuclear program and avoid war were ongoing, and talks were expected to continue next week.

Iran had agreed to some demands in the talks, but US President Donald Trump, who had previously threatened to attack Iran to force its leaders to accept the deal, said he was “not happy with the way the talks were going.”

Trump has also ordered the largest US military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but has not yet said why military action might be needed. Iran has promised to respond with force to any attack.

The Israeli defense minister said the “preemptive strike” was intended to eliminate threats against Israel. Last June, Israel attacked Iran, triggering a 12-day war. The United States later joined Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Iran’s ballistic missiles were a threat to Israel and opposed a deal that focused solely on Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran said it would not negotiate limits on its ballistic missile program or the elimination of proxies in the region, such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen, because that would violate its sovereignty.

It should be noted that Israel had previously targeted “nuclear and military targets” in Iran, saying that these “attacks will continue until the threat to Israel’s survival is removed.”

Comparative analysis of the military power of Iran and Israel

 

Iran and Israel are about 2,152 kilometers apart on land, and in October 2024, Iran launched a missile attack on Israel and delivered its missiles there, proving that Iran has made significant progress in its long-running missile program.

Iran's missile program is considered the largest and most diverse in the Middle East. In 2022, General Kenneth McKenzie of the US Central Command said that Iran has 'more than 3,000' ballistic missiles.

On the other hand, there is no definitive confirmation of how many missiles Israel has, but it is clear that if any country in the Middle East has a stockpile of the most advanced missiles, it is Israel.

It has developed this stockpile of missiles in cooperation with other friendly countries, including the United States, or on its own over the past six decades. According to a report by the CSIS Missile Defense Project, Israel also exports missiles to several countries.

Israel's famous missiles include Delilah, Gabriel, Harpoon, Cheriko 1, Jericho 2, Jericho 3, Laura, and Popeye.

Iran Missiles

Its superiority is in air power, missiles and drones and if it does respond, it will likely do so through them. By the way, high-profile Iranian military and civilian figures have been killed in similar attacks in the past, although Israel has often not formally acknowledged it but has not denied it either.

Another aspect of this war could also be cyber attacks and Israel seems quite vulnerable in this area. The reason is clear that Iran's defense system is not as advanced as Israel's defense system, so it is easier to attack Israeli systems with cyber attacks.