After Syria strike, Israel warns of ‘daily’ attacks on enemies
“We are in a multi-front war, in the offence and defence,” said Defence Minister Yoav Gallant at a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, reports The Times of Israel.
We will “act everywhere, every day to prevent the force build-up of our enemies”, he said. Israel’s goal is to “make it clear to anyone who threatens us – all over the Middle East – that the price for such action will be a big one”, Gallant added.
Iran under pressure to deliver ‘show of force’ after Israel’s Syria strike
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard commanders killed in Syria are not ordinary men. And their assassination is being seen as a test for the Iranian system.
Whatever Iran decides to do, it’s going to be difficult to manoeuvre. If Iran doesn’t respond strongly enough, many here believe it will be seen as a sign of weakness, not only to Israel and the United States, but also to a number of its proxies in the region.
If Iran does react strongly, it could risk a full-out confrontation with the US. It’s really a tricky moment, and how Iran decides to move forward will be pivotal, not only for its standing in the region, but also the future of the establishment in this country.
So far, we know there have been a number of high-level meetings. The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, held a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council during which it decided on an “appropriate response”.
All the rhetoric coming from Iranian officials as well as the supreme leader indicates there will be a strong response. What that means and how it plays out remain to be seen. But what is certain is that, internally, there is strong pressure for the Revolutionary Guard to make this a moment to show force.
‘Israel has crossed a line’ with Iran attack in Syria
The deadly attack on Iran’s consular office in Damascus could trigger a spillover of the Gaza war across the region, an escalation Tehran has sought to avoid, analysts say. Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group called the deadly strike “a significant escalation”.
“By targeting an Iranian diplomatic facility, Israel has crossed a line. Iran’s dilemma is that failure to respond could signal weakness to Israel, but retaliation risks a harsher US or Israeli action,” said Vaez.
Bassam Abu Abdallah, who heads the Damascus Centre for Strategic Research and is close to the Syrian government, said before Monday “there were rules of engagement, but now it’s an all-out war between Israel and the resistance axis”.
“It is now clear that the trend is towards escalation. We could start to see increased attacks against US bases in Syria, Iraq or elsewhere.”
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