A flurry of Israeli airstrikes overnight Saturday targeted Shi’ite militias in eastern Syria. 14 were killed, eight Iraqis and six Afghans. While not actually being from Iran, they are presented as Iranian-backed in keeping with Israeli narratives.
Iran responded angrily, saying the time for Israeli hit-and-run attacks are over, and Iran will give a “crushing response” for the attack. It’s not clear when they intend to retaliate, or how.
Israel has for months been hoping to provoke a war with Iran, preferring to do so while Trump remains in power. Iran is well aware of this and has counselled caution for now, hoping for better diplomatic prospects with Biden.
Given this, Iran’s threatening retaliation may be a ruse trying to reduce the threats of escalation while they wait out the clock, and hope that the environment in general improves after the inauguration.
Israel seems to be at it again dragging the USA into a fight that need not be fought.
Exactly. We need more stupid wars in the Middle East like a hole in the head.
Does anyone really think “I am a Zionist” Biden will be much better on Iran? Look at his mooted foreign policy choices.
He’s not as easily manipulated and egged on as Trump famously is, but he’s no saint. Hopefully enough people in his administration realize what a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad idea an invasion of Iran would be. Netanyahu is really from another planet, trying to engage Iran in a war.
Really? Biden will nominate Blinken to be Sec of State. Blinken favored the Iraq invasion (as did Biden-who also wanted to dismember Iraq), the removal of Gadhafi in Libya and wanted “to do more” in Syria. Mark Dubowitz, the head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which calls for regime change in Tehran, said Blinken and Michele Flournoy, likely to be Biden’s Sec of Defense, would make “a superb national security team”.
Remember in the Middle East there is no Republican Party and no Democratic Party, only the Zionist Party.
Iran always vows a crushing response to these attacks but rarely does anything, it looks like they have accepted its better to absorb then provoke a greater conflict with Israel
Wrong. Israel wants to provoke US war on Iran by whatever means. Iran’s message has nothing to do with any Iraqi’s killed, but Israel’s narrative on Iran. The message is — come out and fight.
But this will not happen. As soon as US takes any action —Israel will declare “not wanting to be in the middle”. These were the words spoken last time Iran fired on US base in Iraq.
This reply makes no sense. Iran has shown itself to be the adult in the room this century, while the USA and Israel continously poke and prod and shell and assassinate.
I agree with you. What I said was that Israel keeps on bluffing, and Iran knows it. Thus a taunting response.
I do not believe — unlike many analysts — that Israel would become a combatant. It is one thing to perform hit-and-run provocations by killing soldiers within Syrian-Iraqi border space. Yes, the space is continuously destabilized, insuring disruption to infrastructure, commerce and ordinary life.
Certainly this cannot last, as center of the region cannot hold. And in any wider conflict — Israel will be on its own. US will have a much bigger problem on hand to protect Israel. All I am saying is — this whole mess has not been thought through.
The rogue nuclear-armed state of Israel is not a party to any of the major treaties governing WMD nonproliferation, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC).