Over the weekend, Iran launched over 300 missiles and drones at Israel. But in a response that could only be seen as “miraculous,” Israel’s defense systems neutralized 99% of the attack. However, the world might have been a very different place if even a third of those missiles had hit their targets. Former Department of Defense intelligence analyst Jason Buttrill joins Glenn to lay out just how close we were to global nuclear war. So, is there still a chance that this will lead to World War III? Will Israel retaliate? And can Iran even respond a second time? The guys break it all down.
TranscriptBelow is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: So yesterday, Israel, Iran attacked over the weekend, and it was a significant attack.
JASON: Yeah. You know that scene in war games, where it shows all these missiles. That's what it looked like. It was insane. 350 missiles. Missiles drones. All that. It was --
GLENN: So significant attack. They are launching the missiles, some of them into space. Did we get the video in yet?
JASON: Should.
GLENN: Of the -- what do they call this? The C Dome? I think.
They have the Iron Dome.
JASON: Oh, it's it is Arrow System.
GLENN: Watch this. Watch this. If you're watching TheBlaze. There.
STU: Fireworks.
GLENN: That is -- I feel like a million voices were all screaming and then suddenly silenced. That is a hit in space.
JASON: Exoatmospheric.
GLENN: So that's the Arrow system, going up out of the atmosphere into space, and hitting a missile as it's starting to come back in.
I mean, it's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. And I think this is the first time it was ever captured on film, right?
JASON: This was the third interception in space. The others were last year, when the Houthis launched Iranian missiles against Israel. So just the weapon technology involved this weekend is nuts.
GLENN: So 99 percent, 99 percent of these missiles will tell you what was going on, but the biggest thing you need to know is, we could have very easily been in World War III today.
I think because of the Arrow missile system, which is a joint project between us and Israel, that really, truly saved the day. If these 300 missiles would have struck the ground, it would have been world war.
Absolutely world war.
JASON: Oh, if a quarter of these missiles actually got through. We're having a completely different conversation right now.
GLENN: Please tell us we have the Arrow system here.
JASON: I don't think we do. It was the second half of the development for that. So it's also an American.
We have dibs on it. We have our own system that is kind of pre-deployed on naval ships all around the world, so we do have the same capability.
GLENN: That's the Aegis System, right? That's not shooting things from in space.
JASON: It is. I don't remember. There's two parts of it. I don't remember the second part of it.
GLENN: The Aegis System on ships, is just a buttload of bullets, coming out.
I mean, it's just -- it's just round after round. Big butt of bullets.
JASON: Yeah. It's called a BLB. Buttload of bullets. Military technology.
GLENN: Yeah.
JASON: It was more than just the Arrow system. To try to get the scope of this. You have to look at the graphic of this. Submitted. Of where all this ordinance was coming from.
Yemen. Iraq. Iran. Lebanon. All converging on multiple different fronts. All down on Israel.
They have a three-pronged system. The further one out, is the arrow two and three system.
GLENN: That's the one shooting in space.
JASON: That's the one that can reach up and touch you in space. The second one is David's Sling. That shoots lower -- yeah, I know. They have such cooler names than ours does. That shoots like cruise missiles or like missiles that are flying low to the ground. And then you have the Iron Dome, which everyone is talking about.
All of those things were firing all at once, going on over the weekend. But you also had Israeli planes, going up and firing on cruise missiles, way the heck out there. Then you had US planes, and planes from the UK.
All of this converging in the skies, over the weekend.
GLENN: So is it that Iran's missiles suck so much?
Or is this as amazing as it sounds?
JASON: It's as amazing as it sounds.
So these are current generation weaponry that we're talking about. Iran is exporting some of this weaponry, giving it to Russia, to Russia can attack Ukraine. This is amazing.
99 percent success rate, does not happen. It doesn't. So, I mean, granted there was great technology here.
But I think there's some God work going on as well.
GLENN: I was going to say, isn't there Scriptures, when the whole world goes to attack.
That God just protects. It's like a dome over Israel.
JASON: Yeah. Yeah. It was so effective, that I think that Iran probably is rethinking some of their first strike strategy against Israel.
Now, you know they've all gamed this out.
And I'm sure, part of this attack, that goes into their plans. Like, they know that they want to take out Israel. If they had to, what do they need?
Well, they threw everything, but the ayatollah's kitchen sink at Israel oar the weekend.
GLENN: I think I was flying. I think I saw does that hit the ground.
JASON: They probably used that too.
GLENN: With the disposal, which is weird.
So if you would have had one of these nuclear-tipped. It -- I mean, so you -- so all of that work for a nuclear weapon. You ain't going to deposit it through a missile. Right?
Wouldn't that be the message that Iran would get?
JASON: You're not now.
Yeah. I don't. This sent Iraq back, I'm sure. Probably several years, as far as whatever their eventually goal is.
And that right there, is the problem. Because we know, they won't stop. So when you're saying, you know, when everyone is like pleading with her.
When Biden was pleading with Bibi over the weekend, to don't retaliate. On the one hand, I'm like, yeah.
Because I don't want to see the Middle East completely change overnight.
GLENN: It's not just that.
If they retaliate, Iran has the ability to set Europe and America on fire in the streets. And that's only a matter of time, before it happens. But I don't know.
I would like to delay it as long as possible.
JASON: But if you're Israel. Look at the overall picture here.
They're surrounding them. Look at the graphic of where all the missiles are coming from.
Israel is surrounded.
The strategy now. International community. Israel just keep your walls.
Just keep your walls up, and you will be safe. When has that ever worked, in military history?
Never. Constantinople. Greece. Troy. Pick your time. Your walls are an illusion. They will keep you safe, for a limited amount of time. But the eventual goal of an invading army is to topple those walls. That's Iran's plan.
So how long do you delay? And if they decide -- and Iran says, they're not delaying anymore. That is when the entire region changes forever.
They've been playing this little proxy war for 40 years.
GLENN: This is the first time, that they have, not used a proxy. Right? No proxy, it was Iran.
And so I saw -- and honestly, I thank God, that we are pausing at least. You know what I mean?
Because this will escalate into a world war that fast.
Just, everything in me says, once the Middle East is set on fire, Russia and Ukraine, and everything else, it's just going to be you. Just dominoes.
Because if the Middle East is on fire, and Iran is losing, which they would.
They're just setting all of our countries on fire, you know, internally.
So I was glad to see the pause. However, I was a little disturbed, that the news came out from the White House. Because that should have come out from the Prime Minister's office in Israel. But instead, Joe Biden calls Bibi Netanyahu. Who apparently, the war ministry, all voted to retaliate. And then Joe Biden called and said, hey. We won't support you.
Tonight -- don't do it. Don't retaliate. That's what the White House is saying, and so Bibi changed his mind. Well, gee. Thanks for backing me into a corner. I mean, it might be a corner I like to be in. But that's not the way you deal with an ally, is it?
JASON: No. How they're dealing with this all across-the-board, is what you're not supposed to do. This attack happened because of the Biden administration's overall foreign policy in the Middle East.
GLENN: You think?
JASON: When you refuse to stand up to their proxy, Hamas. When you coddle them as they have, things like this happen. When you give billions of dollars back to Iran. When you try to go back into the JCPO, nuclear agreement with them. When you're doing everything possible, to say, let's play nice. Let's play nice. When you have refused to stand up to a bully, this is the type of crap that happens. And I'm not saying that we go off and militarily attack them. There is a formula for dealing with this.
It was actually working. The Abraham Accords are happening. When you abandon them. This is the kind of crap that happens.
GLENN: But when you're having the possibility of Trump getting back in, and quelling all of this. I just want to make it to, you know, January, in case he wins. If he doesn't win, I mean, we're just going to keep seeing more and more of this.
You're right. It is our policies. We are weak. We don't command any respect. And honestly, we're on the other side.
We're giving money to Iran. So our tax dollars went to Iran. And to Israel.
So you could feel good on April 15th today. You paid for both sides of this.
STU: What do you guys make of the really strange way this all unfolded.
It was like, hey! Drones are going to be there in a few hours. They're all coming.
GLENN: I think that is. That is -- and correct me if I'm wrong, Jason.
You would know more than I would.
I think that was the signal from Iran.
Hey. We're going to do this.
STU: Right.
GLENN: We're going to -- because otherwise, you surprise.
Hey, surprise!
But they let Israel.
STU: Israel did.
GLENN: Yeah. They telegraphed it. Let Israel know.
Prepare your people for this. And then we will stop.
And that gives -- that gives the Israelis an opportunity to say, okay.
Well, we stopped you. Don't do it again.
STU: Because their statement right after. Hey. By the way, that's the end of this.
Wait until you know. That's what we're doing.
The matter is settled.
JASON: Concluded.
STU: Yeah. They're trying to say to our people. Hey. We did something.
To Israel, hey, we told you it was coming. You blocked it all.
Let's just call it a draw. Now, Israel, of course, gets the win here. They wiped out important military officials, and people they really wanted to target in Syria.
And they stopped the entire attack from Iran.
I mean, it's a massive escalation. No way of denying that. Maybe there's a chance for us to avoid a real inflammation of our entire region.
GLENN: I think we did. I think we did.
STU: You think it's over? Netanyahu said, it's going back for years.
GLENN: It's going to go back to terror now. The missiles are over.
STU: I mean, Netanyahu said, he wants to basically go after Iran directly.
He believes they're doing all this --
GLENN: Wow, they are the head of the state. They are the problem.
STU: It's true.
JASON: It's all up to Israel's response now.
GLENN: So you don't believe. So you don't believe, they are finished. Because -- according to the White House. They're done.
JASON: I think that's what Israel is juggling right now. Because it was heavily telegraphed. Iran told Turkey they were going to do this attack. And Turkey transmitted it to us.
GLENN: Let me take a quick break. And then I want to come back. Because I want to lack at this from the Israeli point of view.
I'm in addition they're stopped.
But if I'm an Israeli, I'm like, go get them now.
They've just blown everything that they have most likely. Let's go get them, while they're weak. We can overthrow them.