The Economist: Four Options for Israel's Response to Iranian Attack

Saturday 6 Oct 2024 |1 month ago
Meeting of Israeli occupation leaders

Barran Press - Hurrah channel

An analysis by The Economist published on Friday reviewed the viable options available to Israel in response to Iran’s recent missile attack in early October.

The British magazine stated that Israeli leaders believe they have no choice but to retaliate. The nature of Israel's potential response to Iran could take four forms, each with far-reaching implications for the Middle East.

The first option, favored by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for some time, involves bombing Iran's uranium enrichment sites and research facilities for its nuclear program. However, this option faces significant challenges due to the widespread and heavily fortified nature of these facilities, requiring a large number of bunker-busting missiles.

The second option targets Iran's strategic vulnerabilities, specifically its major ports, especially oil terminals that provide most of Iran's foreign currency income. Israelis believe that destroying these would deliver a severe blow to Iran's already struggling economy, potentially sparking further unrest within the country and possibly leading to regime change.

The third option involves directly targeting Iranian leadership, similar to Israel's previous attacks on leaders of Iranian proxies and allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. However, analysts note that this would be difficult, as prominent Iranian figures would likely retreat to well-protected, secret locations.

The fourth and most straightforward option would be to strike Iranian missile bases, as this would likely provoke less immediate retaliation from Iran.

The analysis further noted that Netanyahu had faced legal opposition to strikes against Iran at least twice before and lacked the necessary authorization from his cabinet. However, he is now unlikely to encounter any opposition in executing a strike in response to Iran's October attack.

On October 1, Iran launched approximately 200 missiles at Israel in its second publicly declared attack on the country, which it described as a retaliatory move for the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and the death of an IRGC commander alongside him.

https://en.barran.press/news/topic/4909