Then Iran will respond, then Israel will respond, then there will be a response...
No one knows when and how this cycle of danger and war machinery in our region between Israel, along with America and the West, and Iran and its groups, along with - hesitantly - Russia and China will come to an end. We will reach a point in time that obscures the grasp of the moment of initiation, leaving the question: when did the spark begin? We will enter a circular rhythm; there is no point of beginning or straight ending on the arc of the circle; every point is the beginning, and every point is the end!
Whoever wishes might take us back to the moment of Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, on Israel, while another may wish to go back to the moment of the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, and perhaps another might wish to return to the moment Israel was established in 1948, and thus everyone swims in their orbit.
The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a guarded guest house belonging to the "Revolutionary Guard" in the heart of Tehran is a painful blow to the core of the Iranian security regime. How could it not be when new details reveal that the assassination operation was executed by planting an explosive device in the room in advance - reportedly two months prior! - and the bomb was detonated remotely by Mossad agents who were on Iranian soil after receiving information indicating that Haniyeh was present in the room!
This is a profound military and moral blow for Iran, difficult for it to digest, just as it is hard for its party in Lebanon to swallow the killing of its first military security leader, Fouad Shukr, in the heart of its suburb. Previously, Iran conducted a drone and missile attack against Israel on April 14, which lasted about five hours; it was considered the first direct attack of this kind that Tehran launched against Tel Aviv, roughly two weeks after Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing several "Revolutionary Guard" leaders in Syria.
Now, after the recent stunning attacks by Israel in Beirut and Tehran, and Iraq against "Popular Mobilization", as well as earlier strikes on the Houthis in Hodeidah, will Iran and its groups remain silent!? Supreme Leader Khamenei stated that "we must respond because Haniyeh was our guest!"
Iranian Chief of Staff Mohammed Baqeri announced that Tehran is studying with its allied factions how to respond to Israel, asserting that "Israel will regret what it has done." The Israeli government claims that Israel is ready for any scenario, for "our arm reaches anyone who attacks us." We know that the war of words is part of the war arsenal, but will we witness something that goes beyond what Iran and its groups did following the attack on the consulate in Damascus, and what might this new result be?
I believe that Netanyahu's Israel is more eager, prepared, and willing for comprehensive war; does Iran and its affiliates share the same desire, and more importantly, the same capability!?
