MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Israel is bracing for retaliation from its adversaries after the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and the assassination of a Hamas leader who was visiting Iran. Other countries are bracing for what might come next, as well. Here's U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington yesterday.
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ANTONY BLINKEN: Escalation is not in anyone's interests. It will only lead to more conflict, more violence, more insecurity.
MARTIN: If the appeal for de-escalation fails, what then? We're putting this question to Amos Yadlin. He is a former Israeli general and a former head of Israel's Defense Intelligence. Good morning, General. Thank you for joining us.
AMOS YADLIN: Good morning.
MARTIN: You heard me say that Israel is bracing. Do you see it that way?
YADLIN: I don't think we are going to a full-scale war. I think all the parties are trying to avoid a devastating, full-scale war - it's include Israel, Iran and Hezbollah. We are going to face an attempt to retaliate and to deter Israel after Israel retaliated and, for the first time, retaliated on the massacre in Majdal Shams, where 12 kids - girls and boys - were killed by Hezbollah, and for the first time, an attack in Beirut. So it's an exchange of operations, but I think both sides will be very careful not to do something that, by miscalculation, will escalate to a full-scale war.
MARTIN: I do want to ask how - what preparations is Israel making if that escalation should occur? But before I do that, I do want to just ask - one follow-up there is what makes you so confident that that is the case - that both - that all parties here are embracing restraint at this point?
YADLIN: I think all the leaders' rationale - with different rationale but basically understand that the other side can inflict on them devastating results. So it's not mutual assured destruction that - the terms that we kept in the past for exchange of nuclear strikes, but the conventional capabilities of all the sides can do real damage to the other side, and they want to avoid war. At the end of the day, I think everybody understands that you can mostly lose from going to war much more than what you can benefit.
MARTIN: So having said that, how prepared is Israel to wage war to defend its citizens on more than one front?
YADLIN: Israel has the best air defense and missile defense in the war. It was demonstrated in April 13, 14, the night when Iran and its proxies launched 500 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at Israel, and 99% of it was foiled, intercepted. So Israel is ready to be on the defense when its - when Hezbollah and Iran will attack it. And unlike the April 14, I think, in this case, Israel will immediately - simultaneously - will attack those who dare to attack Israel. So Israel is ready.
MARTIN: All right. So I have two questions about that. When Iran attacked Israel in mid-April, Tehran fired nearly 350 drones and missiles, and Israel, the U.S. and other allies were able to shoot down most of them. Can Israel's defense forces hold out against a similar attack if it were coupled with a siege by thousands of rockets and missiles that Hezbollah is believed to have?
YADLIN: Yes, maybe not in the same - there will be a higher leakage rate, but I'm not sure that it was not the case in April. In April, Hezbollah - it was 300 Iranian projectiles and about hundred from Hezbollah and another 50 from the Iraqi militia and another 50 from the Houthis. So Israel know how to look 360 degrees. We also have a coalition - the coalition with the U.S., the U.K., France, some of our Arab neighbors - and we can absorb it. It is never hermetic. We are under attack from September 8 by Hezbollah, from October 7...
MARTIN: October 7, I think, yeah, from how - I understand your point.
YADLIN: ...By Hamas and October 8 by Hezbollah and the Houthis and the Iraqis - the Iraqi militia that, by the way, fired last night at Americans in Iraq.
MARTIN: OK. Forgive me, General. I have one more question. If an escalation with Iran were to occur - all right? - let us say it's an all-out war - what would Israel's objective be?
YADLIN: A war with Iran is different from a war with Hezbollah. A war with Hezbollah - Israel basically destroyed Hamas in the south, and they will move the Israeli army - the Israeli divisions - from south to north. With Iran, we don't have a common border. It's a war that based on launching towards each other all kind of missiles, rockets, bombs.
MARTIN: Yeah.
YADLIN: Israel has a very effective air force. Iran is very vulnerable. Remember, after 14 April, 300 Iranian's projectiles haven't done any damage in Israel.
MARTIN: I see.
YADLIN: Three Iran - three Israeli missiles created a huge damage on S-300 Russian air defense battery near Isfahan. So the Iranians are vulnerable, and that's why I still thinking that they don't want to go to a full-scale war (ph).
MARTIN: That is a former Israeli general. He's the former general of the air force and former head of Israel's military intelligence, Amos Yadlin. General, thank you so much for speaking with us and sharing these insights with us.
YADLIN: Thank you so much for having me on your program.
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