> There is no such thing as a defensive weapon

I agree if we reframe it as “purely defensive,” though there is a bit of tautology invoked with the “weapon” qualifier.

That said, there is legitimacy to developing defensive arms, even if one doesn’t like the ones doing it.

> the only reason a deeper conflict didn't develop with Iran this year was because Iran demonstrated they could overwhelm the various layers of Israel's missile shield

This hypothesis is not sustained by Iran’s reduced firing rate throughout the conflict. All evidence suggests Iran lost its war with Israel and would lose it again if they go for round 2.