PNN – Noting that Iran has ushered in a new era in the region, a regional analyst wrote that the damage inflicted upon the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain is equivalent to the loss of an aircraft carrier.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network; Abdul Bari Atwan, a regional strategic analyst, wrote an article addressing the threat issued by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf—Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly—against hostile U.S. F-35 stealth aircraft. Atwan stated that the message conveyed by this threat is that Iran now possesses the defensive missile capabilities required to shoot down such advanced aircraft.
In this article, he adds that at every stage of the confrontation between Iran and the US and the Zionist regime over the past seven months, new weapons and missiles have emerged from Iran, leaving the American-Zionist camp bewildered.
Atwan adds that the greatest shock for the US Department of Defense lies in the downing of nearly 46 US aircraft by Iranian air defenses—including several stealth models that are notoriously difficult to track and shoot down. Furthermore, targets included approximately 10 advanced F-15 strike fighters, about 12 support (aerial refueling) aircraft, and—most notably—30 MQ-9 drones and an AWACS aircraft, the latter valued at $400 million due to its sophisticated radar systems.
Noting that the delivery of the first U.S. stealth aircraft to the Saudi Air Force is scheduled to take place five years after the contract is signed, he added that significant political and military changes are likely to occur in the Middle East during this period. These changes could include the withdrawal of U.S. forces or the evacuation of bases in the region—a development that would stem from the destruction of U.S. assets or what appears to be an almost certain U.S. departure from the area.
The article adds that the U.S. stealth aircraft is undoubtedly among the most important and effective aircraft for destroying enemy targets, as it is difficult to track or shoot down; however, Iran’s air defense missile systems successfully challenged this claim by shooting down the first of these aircraft during the first seven months of the war.
Atwan stated: We do not deny that the United States is a superpower and that its military arsenal—comprising aircraft and missiles—was the largest in the world prior to any aggression against Iran; however, this stereotypical image changed following the attack on Iran. The most prominent evidence of this failure is the success of Iran’s hypersonic ballistic missiles in destroying the majority of military bases in the region.
Two days ago, in an interview with Military Times magazine, U.S. General John Cordell emphasized that the destruction of the U.S. naval support base in Bahrain by Iranian missiles—specifically those targeting the Fifth Fleet—would be equivalent to the destruction of a U.S. aircraft carrier.
The construction of these bases in Arab countries has cost the U.S. Treasury hundreds of billions of dollars. While Gulf States have covered a portion of these expenses, their destruction with such speed and ease is a stain on the U.S. military establishment and its global prestige.
The article concludes by emphasizing that the Axis of Resistance, led by Iran, previously shattered the myth of “Patriot” missiles; now, by downing stealth aircraft, it is depleting the air-defense missile and ammunition stockpiles of the US and Israeli militaries through the use of explosive missiles. Thus, if Ghalibaf states that a new era has begun—one in which F-15 and F-35 stealth aircraft are hunted and pursued—believe him.