Iran is not planning immediate retaliation for the overnight incident, as its foreign origin has not been confirmed. According to a high-ranking Iranian official, it was rather an infiltration into Iranian territory. Both Iran and Israel downplay the importance of military action. “It indicates that both sides are interested in not further escalating the level of mutual conflict,” Petr Hladík, director of the Middle East Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with Radiožurnál.
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19:20 April 19, 2024 Share on Facebook
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Iranian drones and Israeli air defense response over Jerusalem. | Photo: Ronen Zvulun | Source: Reuters
Let us recall that the current confrontation was triggered by an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, in early April, during which several high-ranking officers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and two generals were killed. So what picture is being offered at this point based on the available information? As for the scope of the night air attack on Iran, what targets was it apparently aimed at and where could it have been directed from?
I don’t want to speculate about where he was led from. You yourself in the introduction called the Israeli attack an “alleged Israeli attack” and we do not have more detailed information at the moment, so we are also based on what is available, either through our embassy or the embassies in the region.
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Listen to an interview with Petr Hladík, director of the Middle East Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
But the important thing is that just as Israel has never officially claimed the attack on April 1st on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, even now Israeli official places remain silent.
However, the fact that the attack took place in Isfahan, where Iran’s nuclear facilities are nearby, has its symbolic significance. And symbols are always the most important thing in the Middle East.
Moreover, the attacks did not only take place directly on the territory of Iran, but we already have confirmed reports that the attack took place, for example, on air defense installations in Syria, and some attacks were also reported from Iraq.
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That is, even though there is no acknowledgment from Israel, the symbolic effect—that there is a possibility that these things will begin to happen—is clearly there.
As one analyst noted, the situation is still rather cloudy. But can it follow from the information from Tehran, according to which Iran was not the target of an attack from the outside, that it was probably the action of special Israeli units sent to Iranian territory?
I do not think. The level of sophistication of that attack will probably remain obscured forever. What is significant is that the attack took place inside Iran.
Going back to the symbolism – despite the fact that these facilities are guarded by the best that Iran has at its disposal, which are the S-300 devices of Russian origin, which are tasked with protecting these installations, the performance was not 100 percent.
So we cannot say exactly who, how and from where the attack was carried out, but the fact that it happened, which is not denied even by Iranian official sites, is news per se.
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Voices from Iran and Israel are downplaying the military action. An Iranian official cited by Reuters said this morning that Tehran was not planning immediate retaliation for the overnight “incident” because it did not come from outside. So does it appear that Tehran effectively welcomes this scenario, where it is not forced to take further retaliatory action when it is clear that Iran has become the target of Israeli action?
I couldn’t have said it better. That is the most important thing right now in this tense situation. The fact that Israel does not officially acknowledge its participation in the attack, as well as the fact that there was no significant material damage or loss of life, at least until now we do not know about it.
It indicates that both parties are interested in not further escalating the level of the mutual conflict.
According to sources cited in American media, Washington urged Prime Minister Netanyahu that Israel not respond to the Iranian air attack last Saturday. Blade The New York Times writes, that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was still on the phone with Israeli partners on Thursday. Can it be assumed that the form that Israel has chosen for retaliatory action can be acceptable to the Americans?
I’m just going to speculate now, but yes. At this moment, we must not forget the essential thing that Israel is still conducting combat operations in the Gaza Strip and conducting them for the most important purpose – to free the hostages still being held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
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For the Israelis, in order to complete the military side, it is most essential to complete the operation in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Without coordination with its greatest ally, which is the United States of America, this too cannot be completed. Although I will be purely speculating now, yes, what is happening now on the Israeli-Iranian front is certainly in some way closely coordinated with the American side.
Do the statements of both sides indicate that this could be the end of the latest confrontation between Iran and Israel?
This is what we as the Czech Republic and we as Europe firmly hope for, after all, this was also the content of the Extraordinary Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which issued a very strong appeal to all parties to try to de-escalate and not escalate the situation further.
Even the Israeli war cabinet made no secret of the fact that some kind of answer had to come. But yes, it really seems that for the moment there is no danger of further escalation of the conflict.
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