Israel wants to send a ‘strong message’ to Iran by retaliating
Last Updated on April 21, 2024 3:54 am
Isfahan, a city rich in Islamic heritage in Iran, was Israel’s main target this time. Although Israel has yet to officially admit that it carried out the attack in Iran early Friday morning. Iran’s military and political leaders, on the other hand, have played down the matter, even jokingly, about whether anything happened at all.
Israel’s latest move, calling for limited retaliation from its allies, has eased tensions for now. Everyone wants an end to all-out war. But will the attack and counter-attack end the Middle East’s most dangerous rivalry?
Whatever the nature of the last strike and counterstrike, there are other fundamental priorities for both sides: deterrence—a specific goal of not being attacked again on one’s own soil. If so there will be a price to pay and it will be damaging. That is why for now there is a sigh of relief in the region and in capitals near and far. But there is no doubt that this peace will not last.
The province is particularly known for the Natanz nuclear program. The Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center and a large airbase are there which were used in the April 14 attack on Israel. It is also a hub for manufacturing drones and ballistic missiles. From there, hundreds of missiles have flown towards Israel.
So, while limited, it sends a strong message to Iran that Israel has the intelligence and capability to strike at Iran’s heartland. This message was important to Israel and they wanted to make sure of it.
US officials have also indicated that Israel had certain targets, such as Iran’s air defense radar system protecting Natanz. However, there is still no confirmation of how successful it has been.
Maybe this attack was just like the first episode of the series. However, although not intended, it was a present for the 85th birthday of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme religious leader at the time.
The silence of Israeli officials gave Iran a political opportunity to make important decisions. But on Friday morning there were incomplete and conflicting reports on what kind of weapons were deployed and how much damage they caused.
US officials said the missile attack. But Iranian officials say several small drones exploded in the central Isfahan province and northwestern Tabriz. No damage or casualties were caused by the downed micro air vehicle, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
But these simple quadcopters are Israel’s calling card—which they’ve been using for years to conduct covert operations inside Iran.
Again, whenever the enemy attacks, Iran has not gone to the policy that Iran will respond strongly with the risk of spreading the conflict. They rather enjoyed the display of their power.
Hardline President Ibrahim Raisi did not mention these recent events in his speech on Friday. As for the Islamic Republic, it followed through on its promise – with an unprecedented attack on Israel late Sunday night. He praised his country’s steel-tough commitment.
In particular, Iran prides itself on the strategic patience of playing the long-term game rather than immediate retaliation or direct provocation. Now they are talking about ‘strategic deterrence’. They have taken this new policy after the attack on the diplomatic compound in Damascus last April 1. The attack destroyed the consular building and killed seven members of the Revolutionary Guard, including a senior commander in the region.
Iran’s supreme leader has been under pressure as Israel has stepped up its targets over the past six months in the Gaza war. Not only the attacks on secret weapons storage sites, buildings, bases in Tehran and supply routes to the battlefields in Syria and Lebanon, Israel also killed several Iranian officials.
Decades of enmity, which previously involved shadow wars and covert operations between the two countries, has now turned into open conflict.
Fires are still burning in the area
The war in Gaza is still going on. Scores of Palestinians were killed. Under pressure from close allies, Israel has agreed to allow large-scale humanitarian aid. But still, the troubled land is now on the brink of famine.
Hostages held by Hamas have not yet been returned and ceasefire talks have stalled. Israel is threatening to enter the Hamas stronghold of Rafah – which aid chiefs and world leaders say could lead to another humanitarian disaster.
Iran has a proxy network across the region called the ‘Axis of Resistance’. From Lebanon’s Hezbollah to Iraq, Syria, Yemen’s Houthis – everyone is ready. Attacking every day. That hasn’t changed in the region’s darkly dangerous times over the past few weeks.