Last Friday, April 19, 2024 in a statement from the top leadership of the Iranian government, it was assured that Iranian anti-aircraft defenses have repelled a drone attack in the surroundings of the city of Isfahan, where there is a major military base and a nuclear facility
By Paco Baca.
An Israeli army drone is set to begin its flight to Iran, in response to an unprecedented airstrike operation on Israeli territory on April 13 of this year. Image: Internet.
The attack, directed from Israel, would have occurred in response to the missile and drone attack perpetrated by Iran last Saturday, April 13. This war report is distributed to the astonishment of the planet, to see the two most important armies of the region involved in a conflict that for the moment, does not seem to escalate, however, a direct confrontation of these two military powers, does not augur well.
It was to be expected that there could be a skirmish between these two countries since there is a lot at stake in the region, and that implies that the two major powers warn each other that a false step would set the stage that could lead the planet to a point of no return, and to an involvement of other nations entering fully into a world conflagration. which can very easily lead us to get involved in a third world war.
Iran attacks, Israel counterattacks.
Nothing good can be predicted from this premise, we can only wait.
So far, the targeted attacks from military intelligence centers in Tehran and Tel Aviv have been calculated, tracked, controlled and repelled.
Both countries have been able to nullify incursions into airspace.
The offensive carried out by Israel would have come in response to the missile and drone attack perpetrated by Iran last Saturday. So far, there has only been one measure of each country’s defensive capabilities. It has not escalated to the level of intervention by regular armies and air force. -For the time being-
Despite the fact that the Israeli government has not officially commented on the attack, official Israeli sources quoted by ‘The Washington Post’ have confirmed that they are behind the attack and have argued that the objective was to «communicate» to Iran that the Israeli army can hit its territory.
This attack came six days after Iran’s Armed Forces and Revolutionary Guards launched an offensive with nearly 300 drones and missiles against Israeli territory in response to the bombing of its Consulate in Damascus, Syria, which resulted in the death of seven members of the Revolutionary Guards and six Syrian citizens.
Since then, Iran has defended its attacks on Israel in the face of international criticism and argued that they are part of a legitimate response and its right to «self-defense,» while issuing repeated warnings about the possibility of an even harsher response should Israel carry out a new attack.
Words exchange
The international community has expressed growing concern in recent days about the increase in tensions and the possibility of an expansion of the conflict in the Middle East through a direct confrontation between Iran and Israel, for which it has called on the parties to remain calm.
Young Iranians protest against the Israeli attack on Iranian territory, for the time being, the demonstrations in Iran have been controlled although numerous. Inernet image.
But when did this rivalry between Iran and Israel arise?
This conflict is mainly politically motivated.
It all started with the Iranian Revolution of 1979, when Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown and Ayatollah Khomeini was installed.
For example, in 1947 when the final UN partition plan (a Jewish state, a Palestinian Arab state, and Jerusalem under an international regime) was approved, Iran voted against it, although a year later it was the second Islamic country to recognize it, behind only Egypt. And it should be noted that in the first of the wars between Israel and the Arab states after the Israeli declaration of independence in 1948, Iran did not participate.
One of the main reasons Iran walked away from the conflict with Israel was that it shared large economic interests, because one of the biggest assets of the Iranian economy was oil. «Starting in 1955, Iran begins to sell oil to Israel at preferential prices»
This economic cooperation resulted in an «Iranian-Israeli alliance» despite the fact that the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 (the ‘Six-Day War’) caused relations between the two countries to become more acrimonious, but without losing the diplomatic touch.
This economic cooperation resulted in an «Iranian-Israeli alliance» despite the fact that the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 (the ‘Six-Day War’) caused relations between the two countries to become more acrimonious, but without losing the diplomatic touch.
In 1973, OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) banned the sale of oil to the United States and some European countries, in retaliation for its support for Israel, however Iran did not join the boycott and «continued its oil production as normal, which caused revenues to increase.»
Later, military alliances were even formed. such as ‘Project Flower’, where militias concentrated on the development of advanced missile systems and other «oil-for-arms» contracts that were signed in the late 1970s. «There is evidence that between the years 1975 and 1977, Israel was helping Iran develop a weapons program.
Israel surprises Iran with a forceful attack Image Internet
Everything changed with the Revolution of 1979.
Until 1979, Iran was a monarchy ruled by the shas of the Pahlavi dynasty, with the United States as its main ally. The country was ruled by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who saw «Israel as a useful counterweight to the Arab world and believed that its influence in Washington would benefit Iran as a would-be great power.»
At this time, however, anti-Israel sentiment was growing in the Middle East.
A revolution in 1979 was sparked by various social groups opposed to the Shah’s policies that ended with the fall of Pahlavi and the establishment of the confessional regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini, who had been in exile for 14 years. From there, an Islamic republic was established that rejected the «imperialism» of the United States and Israel. That was the beginning of the end of the cordial relationship between the two countries. Up to that point, Iran remained a strategic ally of Israel, since Iran maintained a strategic position of control, as long as it remained the enemy of Saddam Hussein and the war it maintained directly against him In fact, «limited cooperation» continued to exist and is evidenced by the war that was fought between 1980 and 1988 against Iraq and in which Israel attacked an Iraqi nuclear reactor that succeeded in delaying Iraq’s nuclear program by at least 15 years. This benefited Iran and balanced the scales in the region in favor of Israel.
The Palestinian cause intensified tensions.
During the rule of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini began to vindicate the Palestinian cause along with large calls for demonstrations in support of Palestine in the capital, Tehran.
Over time, Israel began to see Iran as increasingly dangerous and its rivalry to grow, leading to a «shadow war» between the two countries.
Thus, organizations aligned with Tehran, such as Hezbollah, began to grow, carrying out armed actions favorable to their interests.
These include attacks, unattributed assassinations, computer viruses to destabilize Iran’s nuclear program, drone and rocket bombings.
The «shadow war» has been a constant in recent years and is responsible for the increase in tension between the two countries.
But that tension has intensified most notably since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have been increasing.
When Palestine came on the scene.
The April 1 attack on Iran’s consulate building in Damascus was blamed on Israel. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that according to Israeli intelligence, the building was not a consulate or embassy, but did not confirm whether Israel had been behind the attack when asked about it.
That is the position of the Israeli state’s top military commanders.
Hours after the attack, Iran vowed to avenge the attack and the response came on April 13, when Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones against Israel, which the Iron Dome intercepted and neutralized 99% of them.
For now, the attacks have been warned, controlled, recorded and neutralized.
Practically, shelling and shelling have happened outside cities with high populations. No holy places, mosques or Jewish prayer temples have been touched. Which leads us to think that, for now, only the famous «war games» are being played, which leads us to interpret this as a joint symphony of tacit agreements of a small-scale war.
For now it must be like this, the control of the Strait of Hormúz is at stake, which for now, should not be touched in this equation, because if something were to happen there, it could change the scenario in a categorical way and lead us to a point of tension where the economy of the planet would be controlled by what happens there, in the Strait of Omrúz.
And nobody wants that, because it would be fanning the flame, and this time, the heat would reach all corners of the planet. And yes, it can be the point of no return.
It’s how much.