{"id":70489,"date":"2026-01-06T08:42:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T05:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/?p=70489"},"modified":"2026-01-07T08:45:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T05:15:42","slug":"former-u-s-state-department-official-says-myth-of-israels-impenetrable-defense-collapsed-under-iranian-missiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/news\/former-u-s-state-department-official-says-myth-of-israels-impenetrable-defense-collapsed-under-iranian-missiles\/","title":{"rendered":"Former U.S. State Department Official Says Myth of Israel\u2019s Impenetrable Defense Collapsed Under Iranian Missiles"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly News Portal:<\/strong>\u00a0Mark Fitzpatrick, a former U.S. State Department official and diplomat and former executive director of the Non-Proliferation Treaty at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told ABNA News Agency, in an analysis of Trump\u2019s claims about reviving Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities and programs and Netanyahu\u2019s objectives in traveling to the United States, that Netanyahu had several goals, most of which appear to have been achieved.<\/p>\n

According to Fitzpatrick, Netanyahu sought Trump\u2019s approval for the disarmament of Hamas as the most important step in the Gaza peace plan.<\/p>\n

He also aimed to highlight Trump\u2019s unconditional support for Israel and for himself personally, and to obtain a green light for another attack on Iran. Ultimately, Netanyahu also attempted to secure Trump\u2019s commitment to joining an attack against Iran, although on this point, Trump\u2019s commitment was conditional.<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick said Trump stated that he had \u201cheard\u201d Iran was attempting to rebuild its strategic forces, but immediately added, \u201cI hope that does not happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the best of my knowledge,\u201d Fitzpatrick said, \u201cthere is no doubt that Iran is rebuilding its missile launch capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued that, regarding Iran\u2019s nuclear program, although there are unverified reports claiming it is being rebuilt and even an Italian think tank has alleged that Iran\u2019s leader ordered the construction of missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, he remains skeptical of such conclusions without further evidence.<\/p>\n

How much evidence Trump requires to believe such claims, he added, is a separate matter. At present, Trump likely has little desire to enter another war in the Middle East, as his primary focus is on the Western Hemisphere, particularly Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Responding to a question about whether Israel\u2019s focus on Iran\u2019s missile program represents a calculated substitute for the nuclear issue in order to secure political and legal support from the United States and the West, Fitzpatrick said Israel\u2019s emphasis on Iran\u2019s missile program is logical because Iran has demonstrated that Israel\u2019s missile defense systems are not impenetrable.<\/p>\n

He added that a 15 to 20 percent missile penetration rate toward the end of the war was concerning. While this level of penetration does not pose a threat equivalent to a nuclear attack, it does show that Iran\u2019s ballistic missiles are capable of inflicting real damage on Israeli infrastructure, a danger Israelis are not accustomed to facing.<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick noted, however, that Israel exaggerates the Iranian missile threat to generate sympathy and support in Washington. Until recently, he said, the United States did not place significant importance on Iran\u2019s missiles, as they were not considered a serious threat to U.S. national interests.<\/p>\n

He added that Trump has now placed Iran\u2019s missile and nuclear capabilities within the same framework, saying that if they are rebuilt, both should be targeted. This approach, Fitzpatrick said, reflects an expansion of U.S. military objectives against Iran.<\/p>\n

Asked about the level of readiness of the United States, and Trump in particular, to bear the costs of a direct and high-risk confrontation with Iran, Fitzpatrick said Trump likely does not believe that another military conflict with Iran would impose high costs on the United States. The United States suffered no significant casualties during the June airstrikes, and Trump did not face substantial domestic backlash.<\/p>\n

He warned that there is a risk that Trump could reach the incorrect conclusion that military action against Iran is cost-free.<\/p>\n

In response to a question about whether Israeli analysts\u2019 acknowledgment of the inefficiency of missile defense systems against large-scale Iranian attacks indicates a shift in the balance of deterrence in Tehran\u2019s favor, Fitzpatrick said, \u201cYes, missile penetration rates inevitably change the deterrence balance, although the change is relative.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that Israel still enjoys deterrence superiority, but that is not sufficient for Israeli leaders, as Israel seeks absolute deterrence. For this reason, he said, Israel appears to be preparing for another attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A former U.S. official says Iranian missile penetration exposed weaknesses in Israel\u2019s defenses, altered deterrence dynamics, and reduced Washington\u2019s appetite for a new Middle East war as Trump prioritizes Venezuela.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":70490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[1278,1279,1281,1280],"class_list":["post-70489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-mark-fitzpatrick","tag-middle-east-war","tag-trump","tag-venezuela"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70489"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70493,"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70489\/revisions\/70493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahlulbaytworldassembly.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}