Iran launched an attack on Israel Saturday that was apparently designed by Iran to be both dramatic and ineffective.

It was dramatic, because in the long decades of enmity between the two countries, Iran had never directly launched an attack from Iran against targets in Israel. But it was also deliberately ineffective, employing tactics and utilizing weapons that were almost certain to be stopped by the sophisticated air defenses of Israel and its allies like the United States.

Israeli and U.S. reports indicate that the vast majority of incoming Iranian weapons were neutralized.

The Iranians indicated the aerial bombardment was their response to Israel’s attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus two weeks ago that killed two senior Iranian generals.

However, shortly after the onset of the attack, Iran also sent an official message that it was their hope that the attack can be the end of it—quid pro quo for the consulate attack—and said as much in an official statement. Their words were: “The matter can be deemed concluded.”

However, they do go on to say, “should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe.”

In short, while Saturday’s onslaught may have been more messaging than attack, how it is received by the Israelis will determine how damaging it really becomes. That is why in the days ahead the focus of the Biden administration and the international community will be on persuading Israel not to enter an escalatory spiral that could plunge the entire Middle East into the kind of region-wide war that it has managed to avoid in all the years of........

© The Daily Beast