THIS is with reference to the report “US to ‘steer clear’ if Israel responds to Iran’s onslaught” (April 15). It is now clear that Israel was not alone in neutralising the Iranian attack, and was actively supported by the United States, the United Kingdom and their allies who mobilised their diplomatic, military, and reconnaissance assets to protect the Zionist state.

Iran initially launched drones, knowing well that the slow-moving objects will most likely be intercepted and destroyed even before reaching their intended targets. This was precisely what happened. While successfully engaging the Israeli defence forces with drones, Iran put to test the ground-to-air and sea-to-air defence systems, firing ballistic and cruise missiles simultaneously from Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.

Iran has asserted that it has achieved all its objectives. Iran wanted to demons-trate to Israel and its allies that it was willing to challenge their perceived invincibility, and posed a credible threat to their security. The second objective was to ensure that there were no civilian casualties on the Israeli side in order to be on a higher moral ground. Iran’s strategy successfully prevented Israel from leveraging such casualties to justify its actions or sway international public opinion against Iran.

The third objective was to limit the extent of damage inflicted during the retaliatory strikes to avoid providing Israel as well as its allies any justification to launch a counter-attack, thereby minimising the risk of further escalation or retaliation. That is precisely why the US has distanced itself from any possible Israeli aggression, and has advised the Zionists to “think carefully” about any escalation.

The highly controlled Iranian attack has minimised the chances of sustained hostilities. It is huighly likely that there might be a long pause before Israel and its allies consider a direct attack on Iran. Regardless of what Israel may say, Iran did the right thing the right way.

Qamar Bashir
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2024