Did the Iranian attack constitute a warning to Israel?

The British website “Middle East Eye” reported that “two weeks after Israeli warplanes bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Tehran responded by launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel, targeting the country directly for the first time.” In the early hours of April 19, Israel apparently responded in a more muted manner, shooting down several drones over the Iranian city of Isfahan. But this event will have serious and lasting consequences. Israel is not the absolute power in the region that it imagines itself to be, and it has demonstrated this to the world, with the Hamas attacks on October 7, which were followed by direct confrontations between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel, and now direct Iranian air strikes.” .

According to the website, “Israel is extremely vulnerable and, as a Zionist enterprise, has failed miserably in its stated ideological mission of protecting the Jewish people.” In fact, it has made them more vulnerable than ever before. It took a group of countries to protect Israel from this inaugural test by the Iranian military. Tehran’s air strike was a game-changer, no matter how realistic or quiet the April 19 retaliation was. “Iran’s astonishing display of force against Israel was out of the ordinary, as Tehran never responded directly and immediately.”

Calculated risks

According to the website, “For Iran, targeting Israel directly was a calculated risk. As the New York Times reported, the strikes upended Israel’s belief about Iran’s willingness to fight it directly: “Israel has become accustomed to targeting Iranian officials without direct retaliation from Iran, an assumption that has limited Iranian attacks.” But, if the “West” is able to protect Israel against Iran, why cannot it protect the Palestinians against Israel? Instead, concerted efforts to protect Israel from Iranian attack have effectively protected the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The world saw Israel under attack, and it took a coalition of countries to join forces to defend it. “Breaking this barrier has enormous geopolitical consequences for the region.”

The website continued, “Israel has now been put on notice that it cannot continue to bully the region while committing genocide in Palestine with impunity.” This comes at a time when Israeli goals in Gaza have failed miserably, a fact that even the New York Times was forced to acknowledge. This is a cognitive shift in the military and diplomatic calculations of the region. For the first time, a Middle Eastern country has demonstrated the material means, technological capacity, and political will to strike Israel. This cognitive shift is certainly more in Iran’s militarily and strategic interest than in the interest of the Palestinians, and this event should not distract attention from the issue of Palestinian national liberation. The major change witnessed in the geopolitics in the region will not mean much if Israel continues to maim and kill Palestinians whenever it wants.”

The site concluded, “In short, it is clear that Israel needs the entire Western military apparatus, in addition to its Arab allies, to defend it. Without this support, the settler colony will collapse. While regional political geography has changed dramatically, the plight of the Palestinian people, and their struggle to liberate their homeland, remains the same.”