Following Tehran’s attack on Israel on Sunday, Israel vowed and Western leaders tried to soften the retaliation strike with missiles fired into Iran early on Friday.
The Israeli military carried out missile attacks on Iran, a senior U.S. military official told NPR. However, not much is known about the scope of the strikes or the possible harm they could cause, as both Iran and Israel seemed to downplay the attack on Friday morning, which some analysts believe indicates an attempt to defuse tensions in the region.
“This is a very dangerous moment, but I think Israel has done about as intelligent a thing as they can do under this circumstance,” Gen. Frank McKenzie, retired commander of U.S. Central Command, told Morning Edition. “No one knows exactly what happened and maybe, just maybe, we’ll avoid any possibility of significant escalation as a result of it.”
Not many details are available concerning the attack. Iran state news agency IRNA, citing a military officer in the Iranian capital of Isfahan, said that loud noises heard in the vicinity were the result of air defenses intercepting a “suspicious target,” with no reports of damage in the vicinity.
Numerous military installations, including Iran’s largest nuclear research center, are located in Isfahan. On social media, the International Atomic Energy Agency affirmed that there was no damage to the nuclear sites.
Additionally, there were rumors of explosions in Syria and Iraq. According to the state-run SANA news agency, Israel attacked air defense installations in southern Syria, resulting in “material damage.”
In an attempt to prevent a larger regional confrontation, world leaders are urging a de-escalation of the fighting and ongoing efforts to bring Israel and Hamas to a ceasefire.
The executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Trita Parsi, told Morning Edition that Iran seemed to have managed, at least temporarily, to evade the reprisal it had threatened in the event of an Israeli attack by downplaying the incident.
“Given the circumstances of where we are, this could have turned out much worse,” Parsi stated. “But it’s not over yet, so we shouldn’t draw too big of a conclusion quite yet.”
What is the Response From Iran and Israel?
Both countries’ responses to the strikes seem to be somewhat subdued.
Social media in Iran circulated offensive memes, while official television seemed to brush off the attack. Iran momentarily stopped operating flights at all of its airports, but on Friday morning they started up again.
The threat level was not increased by Israel’s Home Front Command System, which notifies residents of impending threats. Although the nation did not halt flights, German airline Lufthansa declared on Friday morning that it will stop operating to Israel and Iraq until early Saturday morning because of the “current situation.” (It had previously halted flights from Tehran till the end of April.)
With a few noteworthy exceptions, Israeli officials remained mainly silent in the wake of the incident; according to the Washington Post, they cooperated with a gag order.
Hard-line national security minister of Israel, Itamar Ben-Gvir, condemned the strike on Twitter with just one word: “weak,” which is Hebrew slang.
His remarks prompted the Iranian state-affiliated news agency Tasnim to claim that Israeli authorities are “making fools of themselves.” Leading Israeli opposition figure Yair Lapid referred to Ben-Gvir’s tweet as “unforgivable,” claiming that it had embarrassed Israel “from Tehran to Washington.”
The tense situation surrounding Ben-Gvir’s tweet captures the intensity of the discussion about how Israel should react to Iran’s attack—the first to be launched from its own territory—both inside and outside of the nation.
How Did We Arrive Here?
Since Hamas struck Israel on October 7, which Israel claims resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of an additional 250 people, the Middle East has teetered on the brink of a bigger battle. More than 34,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s following military operations in Gaza, according to health professionals in the region.
To cut a very long tale short, Iran supports the three main militant groups who are at the center of the current conflict: the Houthis, who have assaulted foreign commercial vessels in the Red Sea in recent months, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Israel over Iran’s northern border with Lebanon.
Additionally, Iran backs Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, which Israel claims Iran uses to provide Hezbollah with weaponry. Israel did neither confirm or deny involvement for the attack, but Iran blamed Israel and promised reprisal. Earlier this month, warplanes targeted Iran’s Consulate in Damascus, allegedly killing at least seven officials.
Iran retaliated on Sunday by firing hundreds of missiles and drones into Israel. Most of them were intercepted with assistance from the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Jordan.
Since then, far-right elements of his military cabinet have put pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act quickly and aggressively in Iran, while the United States and other Western nations have urged him to go cautiously in order to prevent a wider regional conflict.
According to McKenzie, Israel’s reaction threaded the needle by simultaneously telling Iran that “we can do this again at a much larger scale” and that “we’re not going to try to over-escalate here.”
What’s Being Said by the US?
Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the United States is in Italy for a prearranged summit of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States). When asked about the Israeli strike, he spoke briefly.
“The U.S. has not been involved in any offensive operations,” he stated. “What we’re focused on, what the G7 is focused on … is our work to de-escalate tensions.”
The G7 meeting was headed by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who informed reporters on Friday that the United States had received “last minute” information on an Israeli drone action in Iran.
Such a vague warning is usual procedure for Israel, which hasn’t released any specific military plans for its operations in Gaza since October. Instead, it has simply provided broad guidelines. Speaking to NPR, a senior official stated that Israel only informed the United States the previous evening about its operation in Damascus, not providing any further information until the following day, regarding the embassy hit.
The White House remained silent in public.
In reaction to Iran’s attack over the weekend, the United States and the United Kingdom announced new sanctions against the country early on Thursday. In a statement at the time, President Biden stated that the sanctions were meant to limit Iran’s “destabilizing” military projects and to put more economic pressure on the country.
“Let it be clear to all those who enable or support Iran’s attacks: The United States is committed to Israel’s security,” he stated. “We are dedicated to ensuring the safety of our employees and associates in the area. And we won’t think twice about taking all required measures to make you answerable.”
What are the Leaders of the World Saying?
Leaders from many countries, including China, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Australia, are urging Israel and Iran to reduce tensions and implement a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
According to a statement translated by the Washington Post, Egypt’s foreign ministry voiced “deep concern about the continuing escalation between Israel and Iran” and asked for the “highest levels” of calm. Similar appeals were made by Turkish officials, who placed the full blame on “Israel’s illegal attack” of the Iranian Consulate.
The chief diplomat for the European Union, Josep Borrell, stated during the G7 summit that the EU will tighten its sanctions against Iran in order to penalize Tehran and deter further attacks on Israel, according to the Associated Press. However, he also asked Israel to use caution.
“I don’t want to exaggerate, but we are on the edge of a war, a regional war in the Middle East, which will be sending shockwaves to the rest of the world, and in particular to Europe,” cautioned him. “So stop it.”
It is “high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East,” according to the spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who also appealed “to the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond.”
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