Iran-Israel flare-up: What does it mean for India?
Mint looks at the implications for the rest of the world, including India. In a departure from its long-term policy, Iran attacked Israel directly late on Saturday taking tensions in the region to a new high. The attack was in response to the bombing of Iran’s Consulate in Damascus on 1 April, ostensibly by Israel, that killed senior Iranian military commanders.
Under pressure from hardliners, Iran launched cruise and ballistic missiles apart from over-300 drones at the Jewish state. Most of them were intercepted and the few that got through caused minimal damage. Earlier in the day, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a container vessel purportedly owned by an Israeli billionaire.
That depends pretty much entirely on how Israel responds to this direct attack by Iran. After the attack, Iran said that “the matter can be deemed concluded" indicating that its response to the Consulate bombing is complete. Israel may not view it to be so.
Its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that “whoever harms us, we will harm them". A strong Israeli reaction risks pushing the two countries into an all-out war, possibly dragging the US into it. To be sure, US and UK forces are already involved in this latest escalation.
They have shot down Iranian drones over Jordan, Syria and Iraq. Leaders from across the world have condemned the Iranian attack and called for immediate cessation of hostilities. US President Joe Biden also re-affirmed his country’s “ironclad" commitment to Israel’s security.
World leaders called for restraint to lower tensions in a volatile region which risks descending into chaos. The implication of that will be significant. The immediate impact will be higher oil prices.
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