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Israel was targeted by Iranian drones and missiles in retaliation for an Israeli assault that destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the capital of Syria.
It is widely believed that Israel was responsible for the consulate assault, although it has not officially admitted to doing so.
It is the initial frontal assault by Iran against Israel.
Before this, Israel and Iran had been embroiled in a protracted covert conflict during which they attacked one another’s assets while denying responsibility.
The intensity of these assaults has significantly increased throughout the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which was instigated by the Palestinian organisation Hamas’s destruction of neighbouring Israeli communities in October.
Why are Iran and Israel adversaries?
Before the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which installed a regime whose ideology was centred on opposition to Israel, the two nations were allies.
Iran opposes the existence of Israel and strives for its total annihilation.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the paramount leader of Iran, has previously referred to Israel as a “malignant tumour” that “will without a doubt be overthrown and obliterated.”
Israel considers Iran’s rhetoric, its buildup of proxy forces sworn to Israel’s destruction, its funding and arming of Palestinian groups such as Hamas and the Lebanese Shia militant organisation Hezbollah, and what it believes to be Iran’s covert pursuit of nuclear weapons to be evidence of an existential threat. Iran, however, denies attempting to construct a nuclear bomb.
Iran intended to attack back following the consulate assault.
Iran asserts that its bombardment of Israel on Saturday night was in retaliation for an airstrike on April 1 that targeted an Iranian consulate in Damascus, the capital of Syria, resulting in the deaths of senior Iranian commanders.
Israel is held accountable by Iran for the airstrike, which it considers a breach of its sovereignty. While Israel has not officially confirmed the operation, it is widely believed that it did.
Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a prominent commander in the Quds Force, the overseas division of Iran’s elite Republican Guards (IRGC), was among the thirteen casualties. His participation in the Iranian operation to arm the Hezbollah, a Shia militant organisation in Lebanon, was crucial.
Consistent with a pattern of airstrikes against Iranian targets that are commonly ascribed to Israel, the consulate was targeted. In recent months, several senior IRGC commanders have been slain in airstrikes in Syria.
The IRGC supplies Hezbollah with arms and materiel, including high-precision missiles, via Syria. In addition to attempting to halt these shipments, Israel is also concerned with thwarting Iran’s efforts to expand its military presence in Syria.
Who are the allies of Iran?
Iran asserts that its network of proxy forces and allies in the Middle East constitutes an “axis of resistance” that opposes the interests of the United States and Israel in the region. It offers them varying degrees of support.
Syria is the most vital ally of Iran. Together with Russia, Iran assisted Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria during its decade-long civil conflict.
Hezbollah, which Iran supports in Lebanon, is the most formidable of the armed organisations. Israel and Hamas have engaged in nearly daily exchanges of cross-border fire since the outbreak of conflict between the two countries. On both sides of the frontier, tens of thousands of civilians have been compelled to abandon their homes.
Several Shia militias in Iraq, which are supported by Iran, have launched projectile attacks against US bases in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. After three American soldiers were slain at a military outpost in Jordan, the United States responded in kind.
Iran extends assistance to the Houthi movement in Yemen, which exercises authority over the country’s most densely populated regions. The Houthis, to demonstrate their support for Hamas in Gaza, have attacked commercial shipping near Israel’s coasts with missiles and drones, resulting in the grounding of at least one vessel. In response, the US and UK have attacked Houthi targets.
Iran additionally supplies armaments and instruction to Palestinian armed factions, such as Hamas, which launched an assault on Israel on October 7th, thereby instigating the ongoing conflict in Gaza and involving Israel’s allies, proxies, and Iran itself in the broader Middle East. Iran, nevertheless, refutes any involvement in the 11 October attack.
How do the military capabilities of Israel and Iran compare?
Geographically, Iran is considerably larger than Israel, and its population is nearly 90 million, which is nearly ten times that of Israel. However, despite these facts, Iran does not possess a military advantage over Israel.
Iranian spending on missiles and drones has been substantial. Although possessing an extensive arsenal of its own, this entity has also been providing substantial quantities to its proxies, namely the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Modern air defence systems and fighter aircraft are in short supply. In exchange for the military assistance Tehran has extended to Moscow in its conflict with Ukraine, Russia is said to be collaborating with Iran on the improvement of said weapons. Iran has supplied Russia with Shahid attack drones, and Russia is purportedly now considering the possibility of producing them internally.
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In contrast, Israel possesses one of the most technologically sophisticated air forces globally. IISS military balance reports indicate that Israel possesses a minimum of fourteen squadrons of aircraft, including F-15s, F-16s, and the most recent F-35 stealth fighter.
Additionally, Israel has experience carrying out operations deep within hostile territory.
Both Israel and Iran may possess nuclear weapons.
Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons is widely believed, despite the country’s deliberate ambiguity in its official policy.
Iran maintains that it does not possess nuclear weapons and refutes any intention to utilise its civilian nuclear programme as a means to acquire nuclear capability.
The international nuclear watchdog discovered uranium particles at Iran’s underground Fordo site last year that had been enriched to 83.7% purity, which is extremely close to weapons grade. Iran has indicated that there may have been “unintended fluctuations” in enrichment levels.
Since over two years ago, Iran has been overtly uranium-enriching to a purity of 60%, which violates a 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers.
Nevertheless, the agreement has been on the verge of disintegrating ever since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew and reinstated debilitating sanctions against Iran in 2018. Israel was initially opposed to the nuclear agreement.
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