US has ‘several’ indications Iran has put portions of air defense on high alert. The US has “several” intelligence indications that Iran has put portions of its air defense system on “high alert” in recent days, following unexplained explosions at key facilities tied to the country’s military and nuclear programs, according to a US official who is closely tracking developments.
The change in alert status means Iranian surface-to-air missile batteries would be ready to fire at targets perceived to be a threat.
The official would not say how the US picked up on these indicators, but American satellites, spy planes, and ships routinely operate in nearby international airspace and waters where they continuously monitor Iranian activity.
Several US military officials declined to publicly comment on whether the US has intelligence related to Iran’s alert status.
The US currently assesses the Iranian alert is not part of a training exercise but is a response to recent events and nervousness over whether there is an unknown threat to the regime in the wake of multiple mysterious explosions at various facilities this month.
A struggle to explain
Iran has struggled to explain the cause of those incidents, including a fire that caused major damage to a site that has been key to the country’s uranium enrichment program, prompting questions about potential sabotage.
International speculation has centered on a theory that Israel may be behind some of the explosions, even though US officials originally said the Israelis had assured them they were not responsible.
However, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz did not rule that possibility out while discussing the issue on July 5, saying, “Not every incident that transpires in Iran necessarily has something to do with us. … All those systems are complex, they have very high safety constraints and I’m not sure they always know how to maintain them.” Read More
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