Major conflict threatens as Iranian counter-attack on Israel looms

A bigger conflict is looming in the Middle East after Israel’s attack on an Iranian consulate and embassy in Syria. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns about this. Middle East correspondent Tara Kenkhuis also sees that a ‘considerable escalation’ has taken place due to the Israeli attack.

According to her, it has been “common practice for years” for Israel to bomb Syrian airports in Damascus and Aleppo. “These are believed to be the main access channels for weapons for Hezbollah.” The fact that an Iranian diplomatic mission is now immediately bombed is one step higher on the escalation ladder. “This is a direct attack on Iranian representatives, senior officers and generals of the Revolutionary Guards. That goes a considerable step further and therefore appears to be a direct provocation to Iran,” says Kenkhuis.

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Kenkhuis, from the Lebanese capital Beirut, notices that Israel has been increasing pressure on countries in the region for some time. ‘We often see fighter planes flying over to collect information. We also saw that before and after the attack.’ According to her, the average Lebanese is not afraid of further escalation and it is mainly interpreted as a ‘show of muscle’. However, Israeli actions in the region send an important signal. “It is an increasingly frequent action by Israel, intended to show that they can very easily enter the airspace here and actually violate it without any problems.”

Attack Iran

After the Israeli attack, the question is whether Iran will immediately carry out an attack on Israel. ‘Around the axis of resistance, they have so far responded through their proxies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Now there is a lot of speculation as to whether this direct provocation will also mean a direct response from Iran,” says the correspondent.

If it comes to that, it is obvious that Iran will respond through Hezbollah in northern Israel. ‘Hezbollah and Iran have reacted with restraint in recent months and have not joined forces full out war after an Israeli attack on this particular border. Hezbollah does not benefit from it at all, because its political position in Lebanon is now extremely strong. They will lose support if they are drawn into a war here in Lebanon.” said Kenkhuis.