Iran shrugged off its strategic patience on Tuesday and fired around 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel, triggering fears of a massive escalation of the ongoing war in an already volatile region. Following the firing, Netanyahu said, “Iran has made a big mistake and it will have to pay a price for it.” As Hamas and Hezbollah have both learnt, Israel’s retaliation can be devastating.
The missiles did not do much damage despite the claims of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Most of them were intercepted by both the Israeli air defence as well as firing from US naval destroyers deployed in the area. Israel and the US have said there would be “consequences” to the Iranian action.
The already complicated situation in West Asia has taken a critical turn with Iran’s action even though the damage, according to initial reports, was minimal. Ironically, the only death reported is that of a Palestinian resident in Jericho in the Occupied West Bank. Unlike Israeli nationals who rushed to bomb shelters in place across the country, Palestinians do not have that luxury.
The US has also made it clear that it was in lock-step with Israel. The IDF said that Israel will retaliate at a time and date of its choosing. Tehran claimed that it had informed both the US and Russia before the ballistic missile attacks.
Washington dismissed the suggestion of an advance warning. In a statement issued by the IRGC on Monday, the elite military group said that Tuesday’s strikes were in resp.