Pentagon’s Own Intel Undercuts Claims Of Space Superiority Over Iran

Iran is using space-based intelligence to help target American military installations across the Middle East despite U.S. efforts to destroy its space infrastructure.

The Pentagon’s assessment raises questions about American claims of achieving space superiority over Iran during Operation Epic Fury. It also highlights Tehran’s growing reliance on Chinese and Russian satellite technology to threaten American forces throughout the Middle East, Axios reported.

The war began Feb. 28 when American and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes against Iran, with Israel describing the operation as an effort to eliminate threats to its security, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged during March 2 remarks.

Rubio argued that striking Iran preemptively would prevent American casualties, although he subsequently maintained that Washington intended to confront Iran regardless of Israeli military plans, according to his March 3 remarks.

At least 23 American service members have died in operations connected to the war, including 11 killed by hostile action and 12 in noncombat incidents, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System. Another 866 American troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon’s latest figures.

The war has also inflicted thousands of casualties across the Middle East.

At least 3,636 people were killed in Iran by April 7, including 1,701 civilians, according to a Congressional Research Service report. The figures do not account for subsequent casualties from renewed American and Israeli military operations.

In Lebanon, Israeli military operations have killed at least 4,389 people and wounded another 12,428 since March 2, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry’s Oct. 30 assessment.