![](/img/icon/fonts.png)
The risk of escalation
AN eerie calm prevails after Iran’s unprecedented direct attack on Israel. Tehran fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israeli territory in retaliation for the killing of its senior military commanders in an air raid on its consulate in Damascus earlier this month. It was a calibrated operation designed to send a strong message against any aggression by the Zionist state.
Although no serious damage was done, the sheer spectacle of missiles raining down on Israeli territory has tested arguably the strongest military power in the region. It is not over yet. An expected revenge strike by Tel Aviv has put the region on edge. The call for restraint by Israel’s Western allies and the international community at large is not likely to deter the hard-liner Zionist regime which is seeking to widen the conflict.
Any direct Israeli military action against Iranian installations is bound to widen the conflagration, with serious ramifications for the Middle East and beyond. The risk of tensions escalating into a full-blown military confrontation between the two major regional powers is extremely high, with far-right Israeli groups calling for a swift and forceful retaliation to the Iranian response.
Can the US and its other Western allies restrain the right-wing Israeli government that is already engaged in a genocidal war in Gaza with the weapons supplied by the same powers? It does not seem to be happening with their continuing defence of Israel’s bellicosity. While swiftly condemning the Iranian response, those countries have completely ignored Israel’s killing of Iranian military commanders.
Any direct Israeli military........
© Dawn
![](/img/icon/go.png)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Download_on_the_App_Store_Badge.svg/203px-Download_on_the_App_Store_Badge.svg.png)
![Get it on Google Play](/img/icon/google.play.220.png)