Iran Threatens Israel with Retaliation for the Consulate Strike: Is a Major War Possible and Other Scenarios
Kyiv • UNN
Iran may retaliate against Israel with missile strikes or attack Israeli embassies and military bases after a deadly attack on its diplomatic complex in Syria.
Iran may be close to launching missile or drone strikes against Israeli targets in response to the deadly attack on its diplomatic compound in Syria last week. Bloomberg reports, UNN reports.
Details
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly spoken about Israel's response to the attack that destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus and killed at least 13 people.
Bloomberg writes that Tehran's potential attack could take many forms.
Khamenei has said that an attack on Damascus is equivalent to an attack on Iranian territory. But a retaliatory attack on Israel could provoke a full-scale war that would likely involve the United States and other Israeli allies. The precedent for an Iranian attack on Israeli territory occurred in 2018, when Tehran fired missiles from Syria at positions in the Golan Heights.
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A less risky option would be an escalation of rocket attacks on northern Israel by Hezbollah or Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Another option is to attack Israeli embassies. But this would be a very risky move, given Iran's other priorities in the Middle East. For example, last year Tehran agreed to restore diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, ending a seven-year freeze. And although Israel does not have an embassy in Riyadh, an attack on Saudi Arabia's regional ally could cause diplomatic problems.
Iran could also respond by attacking Israeli or American military bases, as it has done in previous outbreaks. Recently, the United States, Israel's main ally, said that Iranian-backed militants killed three American soldiers and wounded 25 others in a drone attack near the Syrian border in January.
Iran blames the US for the attack on Damascus, as well as Israel, because of Washington's support for the Jewish state. The United States took the rare step of contacting Tehran directly and declaring its non-involvement.
According to the BBC , the day before, US President Joe Biden promised to support Israel in the event of an Iranian attack.
They are threatening to strike Israel in a serious way. As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to guaranteeing Israel's security against these threats from Iran and its satellites is ironclad. Let me say it again: ironclad. We intend to do everything we can to protect Israel's security
Recall
Last week, a airstrike on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus killed seven high-ranking members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Among those killed was Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, an important figure in the Quds Force, the IRGC branch responsible for operations abroad. His deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, was also killed.
Iran and Syria then accused Israel of the attack, which refrained from commenting.
