On the morning of April 14th around 300 Iranian cruise and ballistic missiles as well as suicide drones were launched from Iranian territory as well bases in Yemen and Iraq, at a range of targets inside Israel. This marked a huge escalation in the slow burning cold war that has been bubbling between Israel and Iran for the past 2 decades. No drones or cruise missiles and only 5 total ballistic missiles actually hit Israeli soil, with all others being intercepted by Israeli or American air defense systems. There has been one reported causality however, the 7 year old girl is reportedly in stable condition in hospital. The 5 missiles that Israeli territory hit Israel's Nevatim Air Base, where Israeli F-35s are based, according to U.S. officials, adding that the base was likely Iran's primary target. This strike by Iran puts the entire Middle East on a knifes-edge of further conflict and the full-scale escalation to conventional war between Israel and its neighbors so many have worried about since the attack on Israel on October the 7th. This raises the important question of what has led to these actions, why did Iran launch this attack and what is going to follow?
The Iranian strike is a retaliatory attack following what its views as an assault on its sovereign territory on April 1st when Israel killed two leading Iranian generals of the paramilitary group the Revolutionary Guard. The Israeli strike took place when the generals were holding a meeting in the Iranian consular building in Damascus Syria. This action by Israel breaks years of convention concerning the safety of diplomatic facilities and drew concern from even Israel’s closest allies. Iran claims the Israeli strike broke international law, appealing to the UN for condemnation and promising a retaliation of its own.
Although some argue that Israeli threw the first stone, the actions of Iran are undeniable risking significant escalation. The world now waits for Israel’s own response to this unprecedented strike on its territory. The Israel's army spokesman said Iran would not get off "scot-free" and the controversial and embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised an overwhelming response against Iran, despite the Israeli war cabinet reportedly being split on the best response the attack.
On the part of Israel's most significant ally, the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says Washington expects to impose new sanctions on Iran "in the coming days" following its attack and President Biden declared that America's support for Israel was "ironclad". The world awaits to see if the weekend of April the 14th will be remembered as the start of a much larger war.
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