Israeli attack so far appears to be robust but avoiding key infrastructure: Analyst
Ali Vaez, project director for Iran for the International Crisis Group, says Israel’s attack on Iran so far appears to be in the “mid-range” of its possibilities.
The strikes were “considerably more robust than its response to Iran’s previous attack in April, but not going as far as targeting key infrastructure or nuclear facilities”, Vaez told Al Jazeera.
“The questions now are first, whether this is the full scope of its response, and second, whether Tehran will absorb the hit and try to draw a line under this exchange or up the ante again with a counter-response,” Vaez said, noting that Iran now has several options for its response, “each of which has major risks”.
Iran could now launch strikes against Israel and face another, likely bigger retaliation, Vaez said, or it could attack through its proxies which have been weakened significantly in recent weeks.
Another option would be to target US interests elsewhere in the region “but then it will be facing not just Israel, but US as well”, he said.
Since the start of the war on Gaza, the US has deployed military equipment in the region, including advanced US air defence systems and aircraft.
These movements, Vaez said, had “two purposes: Deter the Iranians from a response, and defend Israeli from a response if that fails
