Iranian experts expect an escalation in an Israeli retaliatory attack. A major war could “destroy the world’s economy and security.”
Tehran – The situation in the Middle East is threatening to escalate further. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed after Iran’s attack on Israel that Iran would “pay.” The regime in Iran had responded to the killing of HezbollahLeader Hasan Nasrallah and a senior Iranian military official in Beirut, as well as other actions in the Middle East linked to Israel, fired up to 200 rockets at their long-time enemy.
Iranian government officials then declared the latest fight to be over. At the same time, they warned of even more intensive measures if Israel carried out further actions against Iran. Israel, on the other hand, could attack military infrastructure, nuclear facilities and refineries in response to the Iranian missile attack.
Iran awaits possible Israeli attack
However, it remains to be seen how Iran will react. “I know that Iranian officials have decided Israel to be taken seriously in the event of an attack on Iran,” Tehran-based security analyst Alireza told Taghavinia Newsweek“because Iran will not tolerate any attack on its territory, not even a symbolic attack,” said the expert. The direction in which Iran’s nuclear program goes could also depend on the Israeli attack. “Any attack on Iranian territory will strengthen the position of those who want to change Iranian nuclear doctrine and build nuclear weapons,” he told US magazine.
“And the construction of nuclear weapons is technically possible for Iran and depends only on the political decision of Ayatollah Khamenei.” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has officially banned the production of nuclear weapons for decades.
“Attack on Iran will destroy the world’s economy and security”
Hossein Vazirian, a political analyst also based in Tehran, warns of the consequences of an Israeli attack. “If Israel attacks Iranian infrastructure, especially Iranian economic infrastructure, Iran can damage gas platforms in the Mediterranean,” Vazirian told Newsweek. “And Iran can attack Israeli military industries like Rafael, Israeli power plants, Israeli oil and gasoline depots in Haifa, and in particular I can refer to the oil refineries in Haifa and Ashdod.” Rafel is a state-owned defense company in Israel.
The whole thing could escalate, especially if the… USA take part in the Israeli strike. In that case, Iran, supported by its network of non-state allies, “could decide to attack American interests in the Middle East.” This also includes US military facilities in Iraq and Syria. The global flow of oil and gas through the Persian Gulf and Red Sea could also be disrupted. Mostafa Najafi, another Iranian analyst, warns of an escalation. Iran is neither Iraq nor Afghanistan. “A war with that Iran will destroy the economy and security of the world,” Najafi also told US magazine.
Biden believes “all-out war” is avoidable
US President Joe Biden appears cautiously optimistic. “I don’t think there will be an all-out war. I think we can avoid it,” Biden told reporters on Thursday (October 3) when asked. But there is “still a lot to do”. Fear of a major regional war in the Middle East is also growing internationally. Israel has been carrying out massive air strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon for days. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, more than 1,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. (erpe/AFP)
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