Following the counter attack launched by the Tehran government on the Israeli airspace on Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu had yesterday summoned his war cabinet for the second time in less than 24 hours to weigh a response option to Iran's massive drone attack. Although the Israeli media said the attack did not record casualty but a little damage, courtesy of the United States and other ally’s air defences and countermeasures that helped Israel to dodge casualty record.
According to some analyst, the development has increased concerns that violence rooted in the Gaza war is spreading like a wildfire and has created more tension of open war between the long-time foes.
The Israeli military chief of staff, Herzi Halevi said yesterday that "this launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones into Israeli territory will be met with a response" but gave no details.
Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani disclosed on national TV on Monday night that Tehran's response to any Israeli retaliation would come in "a matter of seconds, as Iran will not wait for another 12 days to respond".
However, the possibility of Israeli retaliation has added distressed to many Iranians already enduring economic hardship due to tighter economic sanctions with social and political controls since the national protests in 2022-23.
Iran insisted it launched the attack in retaliation for an airstrike carried out on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 by Israel, though revealed it did not plan further escalation.
The U.S. President Joe Biden cautioned Netanyahu over the weekend that the United States, which helped Israel block the Iranian attack, would not participate if Israeli decides to counter-strike Iran.
Since October 7th Hammas attack on Israeli that sparked war in Gaza, clashes have erupted between Israel and Iran-aligned groups based in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
Israel claimed that four of its soldiers got wounded hundreds of metres inside Lebanese territory overnight, the first known Israeli ground penetration into Lebanon since the Gaza war erupted, although it has traded fire with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign affairs chief, while speaking to Spanish radio station Onda Cero said, "We're on the edge of the cliff and we have to move away from it."
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron made similar appeals. Washington and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also have called for restraint
