Former CIA Director and retired four-star Gen. David Petraeus said Tuesday on Newsmax that the "biggest challenge" in the current conflict with Iran is "probably the sheer size of the forces in Iran," pointing in particular to the scale of Tehran's missile and drone capabilities.
"The biggest challenge is probably the sheer size of the forces in Iran," Petraeus told "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."
"And also, I think what has emerged as a bit of a challenge has been the drone aspect of this."
Petraeus noted that while large-scale drone warfare has been seen in Ukraine, where "Ukraine is using 9 to 10,000 drones per day — we have not been in a conflict where remotely that number has ever been used before."
He added that drones are already having an impact in the current fight, saying, "I think the casualties that we sustained were from Iranian drones."
Petraeus emphasized the cost imbalance in countering such threats. "You don't want to fire a $1 [million] or $2 million missile interceptor to take down a $20,000 Iranian drone," he said, highlighting the need for cost-effective short-range air defenses.
Petraeus singled out the United Arab Emirates, saying it "didn't just invest in missile defense, but also in counter-drone defense with short-range air defenses that are cost effective."
Beyond drones, Petraeus cited "the sheer number of missiles and drones headed across the Gulf at our facilities, at Israel, and of course, I think very unwisely, at civilian targets in the Gulf states as well."
He described Tehran's strikes on Gulf states as "so-called horizontal escalation" and "very unwise," arguing they have "forced the Gulf states into this now in a way that they really didn't want to be."
"I don't think they're going to succeed in doing what they hoped," he said of Iran's strategy. "In fact, I think what will happen is the opposite, that some of them will not only contribute to the defensive effort, but some may actually take offensive action."
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