Mirna Fahmy-Diplomatic Inside

The long-awaited response of Israel on Iran’s latest ballistic shower is finally on the go.

Waiting in the wings for Israel’s response to Iran’s 200 ballistic attack on October 1, 2024, Israel finally started targeting institutes on the night of October 25 in Iran, weakening its attack sources.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have announced that the IDF is precisely attacking military targets in Iran with air-launched ballistic missiles. They named it the first wave. There were photos shared by the IDF and Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad, on social media of Prime Minister Netanyahu at the IDF Headquarters monitoring the attack on Iran along with the Chief of Staff Halevi and Air Force Commander General Tomer Bar.

Not counting to minutes, Israel shot in its second wave of attacks, forcing Iran and Iraq to close their airspace. A senior Israeli official stated that the Iranians failed to block the Israeli missiles. A total of 100 Israeli fighter jets carried out the attacks in three waves on 20 missile and drone facilities around the Iranian capital Tehran. The IDF assured that their jets arrived safely to Israel after attacking Iran.

Iranian sources reported that their air defences successfully intercepted the strikes, with minimal damage reported. Civilian fights at Tehran’s Imam Khamenei Airport have resumed normal operations. Before it, they denied Israel’s strikes, claiming it to be “explosions from activated air defence systems.”

After several hours (nearly 3 hours) of attack in the dawn on Iran’s military institutes, which are known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the IDF spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, in English, made a TV statement that they “concluded their response to Iran’s attack against Israel.”

“If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond,” Hagari added. Hagari threatened in his speech that if anyone dares to drag the region into a wider escalation, they will pay a heavy price.

A US official stated that if Iran reacts, the US will defend Israel.

“So far, we have said it is an American film,” Lebanese Saudi Shiite Cleric and General Secretary of the Arab Islamic Council in Lebanon Mohamad Ali El Husseini posted on his X account. He added that the US administration protects the Iranian regime and works to organise and manage the rhythm. Al Husseini labelled this response as a “disciplined” and “limited” initial. “The biggest and the strongest will definitely happen, most likely after the US elections.”

From the targeted hits, the Iranian energy facilities were not and are not a target in this Israeli attack because it will probably be after the US elections, as politicians and experts say on social media.

A couple of days ago, the Jerusalem Post quoted opposition activists in Iran that a nuclear facility called The Centre for Agriculture Research and Nuclear Medicine at Hashtgard caught fire. It is not the first time this has happened, as many nuclear powers in Iran and oil and gas stations have been engulfed in fire before.

Iran suffered massive cyberattacks on October 12, which disrupted operations in almost every sector of the government and targeted its nuclear facilities in particular, Iranian media reported. “Almost every sector of the Iranian government, the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive, has been affected by these cyber-attacks,” said Firouzabadi, a former secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cybersecurity. Israel was thought to be responding to Iran’s October 1 ballistic missile launch, as all the signs pointed in that direction.

Interpretations for Iran’s nuclear cyberattack were derived from Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s announcement on October 9 that his country would respond decisively to the Iranian aggression, stating that retaliation would be “lethal” and “surprising.”

Netanyahu once declared in a video on his X account that “there is no place we can’t intervene in Iran.”

In the middle of October, the Financial Times (FT) revealed that Dana Stroul, a former US Defence Official, warned that the stockpiles of interceptor missiles aren’t limitless and that Israel faces a race against time to restock its supplies before they run out. He noted that if Iran responds to an Israeli attack and Hezbollah joins in too, Israel’s air defences will be stretched. The US can’t continue supplying Ukraine and Israel at the same pace.  

Hours before Israel’s retaliation on Iran, The New York Times divulged that Iran’s Supreme Leader has ordered full military readiness and mapped out a bold response if red lines are crossed, indicating that they are preparing for a face-to-face war against Israel.

Since Iran’s ballistic attacks, there have been in and on-going breaking news releases that Israel is preparing or will attack in response “tonight,” “tomorrow,” and “so soon,” putting all eyes and minds on edges peeking at what escalations will burst in, especially when the region is yelling with instability because of the many civil wars. Iran’s ballistic attack killed one Palestinian from Gaza who was in Israel seeking a job to feed his family and injured about two or three Israelis. The attack itself was phrased as a “game” and a “show” by many analysts. 

A week before Israel’s response, there were attempts to assassinate Netanyahu and his wife in their home by Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah. Netanyahu posted on his X account that “this was a grave mistake.” He vowed that he will eliminate anyone who tries to harm Israel’s citizens and bring the hostages home from Gaza. Many pro-Israelis posted on social media that this attempt shall give them the legitimate right to aim for Khamenei’s head.

Netanyahu once emphasised on a post on his X account that the Iranian people aren’t targeted in the hostile conflict between Israel and Iran, and they understand that Iran’s Islamic regime is behind the people’s suffering and this shall end one day. He ensured that the Iranian people deserved freedom and rights to live properly away from Khamenei’s regime. Besides supporting Reza Pahlavi to become the new Shah Iran following his father, many posts of the old flag of Iran depict the Persian Lion symbol and not the current regime’s symbol.