Israel and Iran have never been closer to sparking a regional war in the Middle East.Iran on Tuesday launched a two-wave ballistic missile attack in response to Israel’s killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week and following the July 31 assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
According to Israeli army reports, the 180-projectile salvo did not result in any injuries because the majority of the missiles were intercepted. Iran declared that it was going after three Tel Aviv-area military installations.
As the US unified behind its close friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promptly promised retaliation, declaring that Iran “made a big mistake and will pay.” President Joe Biden stated at the White House, “Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” and added that he was talking about a reaction to the attack.
The region now hangs in the balance as it waits to see whether Israel will choose to de-escalate or seek to confront its longtime foe with US backing
Israel’s reaction is “unpredictable,” according to Marc Owen Jones, an analyst at Northwestern University in Qatar, who told Al Jazeera that although Iran’s attack was expertly planned to prevent any escalation.
According to Owen Jones, Iran’s attack on Tuesday aimed to restore some degree of deterrence since Tehran could no longer afford to “look weak” in the face of Israeli attacks on its regional allies.
However, reports indicate that Israel was notified of the impending US attack in time to avoid the missiles and drones. Consequently, he continued, Iran’s use of advanced weaponry must be viewed as a “symbolic effort.”