"We should understand that Tehran is naked right now, the ayatollah has no clothes," said Richard Goldberg, a former White House National Security Council member who worked the Iran portfolio. "Israel destroyed Iran’s strategic air defense capabilities and set back its missile and drone production extensively."

Though Iran knew the attack was coming—and was even able to prepare following the explosive leak of classified American intelligence on Israel’s military movements—it still failed to stop more than 100 Israeli Air Force planes as they hit deep inside the Islamic Republic. This was made possible in part by Israel’s initial strike on radar systems stationed in Syria, essentially leaving Tehran blind as Israeli planes flew more than 1,000 miles into Iranian airspace. 

Satellite imagery reviewed by the Associated Press showed extensive damage to sensitive Iranian military sites, including some previously linked to Tehran’s illicit nuclear weapons program. Other facilities targeted by the Israelis included manufacturing points for Tehran’s ballistic missile industry, which is responsible for fueling the two massive attacks on Israel this year that set the stage for Friday’s retaliatory operation.