The situation in the Middle East is becoming increasingly critical. On June 13, Israel launched a campaign of attacks against Iranian territory, hitting the country’s capital and assassinating several key officials. The Israeli attacks took place both through bombings with fighter jets, missiles and drones and through intelligence operations and targeted assassinations using internal saboteurs, thus starting yet another open, direct conflict in the Middle East region.
The Israeli excuse for its military campaign was the alleged “need” to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program and dissuade Tehran in order to force the Persian country to accept the unilateral conditions imposed by the Tel Aviv-Washington axis in the negotiations for a nuclear deal. For this reason, the attacks were mainly directed against Iranian nuclear facilities, in addition to the targeted killing of scientists specializing in nuclear technology. However, the Iranian authorities also presented evidence, including clear images, of attacks on civilian targets, with children having died as a result of the Israeli bombings.
The Iranian response, however, came shortly after. Just a few hours after the Israeli provocation, the Iranian military launched a massive bombing campaign against Israel. Ballistic missiles were used against military targets, infrastructure and government facilities throughout Israel, including Tel Aviv. The effects of the Iranian strikes appear to have come as a great surprise to the Israeli authorities, who were certainly not prepared for such a substantial retaliation.
Among the targets hit by Iran in the first bombings were Israeli air defense batteries. Images are circulating on the Internet showing Iron Dome facilities being destroyed immediately due to the high impact of Iranian missiles. This greatly facilitated subsequent Iranian attacks, as it weakened Israel’s ability to repel the bombings.
In the following days, attacks were repeated on both sides. The dynamic of alternating waves of bombings is being seen every day. Israel has launched attacks at certain times of the day, which are then responded to by Iran – something typical of a long-distance war scenario, where both belligerents do not have a common border and rely on bombing by missiles, artillery, drones and aircraft to inflict damage on the enemy.
It is interesting to see the high level of destruction left in Israeli cities hit by the Iranian missiles. Images circulating on the Internet show the total destruction of several Israeli buildings, many of which belong to military or political institutions of high relevance in Israeli society. Israeli infrastructure is also being particularly targeted by Tehran, which has launched large-scale missiles against the Port of Haifa and local power plants.
The conflict so far has clearly shown a military advantage for Iran. Israel has been effective in carrying out targeted assassinations and deep sabotage operations, and has even managed to infiltrate drones into Iranian territory, thereby striking its enemies from within. However, these attempts at “decapitation” seem to have little effect against Iran, which is an internally well organized and cohesive state, with most of its officers sharing common values, goals and principles.
In practice, assassinating an Iranian military commander or senior politician is simply giving way to another like-minded officer. Israel will hardly be able to gain the same strategic advantage against Iran that it did by decapitating the leaders of the anti-Israel militias in Gaza and Lebanon.
Israel appears desperate for international support. With the country facing strong condemnation from Russia, China and much of the Global South, Tel Aviv has no choice but to seek American and European assistance. Despite Western support for Israel’s “self-defense” rhetoric, no world leader has shown so far any willingness to directly engage in a war against Iran – which is natural, considering that Iran is a major military power and any war against it will inevitably lead to a dangerous escalation.
Iran has expectedly announced a complete ban on all diplomatic negotiations over a nuclear deal. With the Israeli side attacking Tehran and the mediator (the US) suspected of complicity, there was no reason for the Iranians to continue such talks. In addition, Iran has announced that it will be reviewing its nuclear policy, and new guidelines from Tehran on the matter are expected to be announced soon.
If the Israeli intention actually included dissuading Iran and make it accept the agreement proposed by the US, then the campaign objective failed, considering that, in response to the Israeli aggression, Iran acted with substantial force, and does not appear to have suffered any moral or psychological impact from the Israeli attack.
It is still too early to talk about the future of the conflict, but the issue is absolutely worrying, considering that Israel is a nuclear power and could use its extreme arsenal in case of an “existential threat”. Without the nuclear factor, Iran’s military superiority is absolutely undisputable. Tehran is consolidated as the greatest military power in the Middle East, despite Western propaganda insisting on overestimating the strength of Israel’s IDF.
It remains to be seen whether both sides will act with due restraint to prevent an unprecedented escalation, or whether the conflict will continue to aggravate in the coming days.
https://infobrics.org/en/post/48595
