Israel’s limited missile strike on Iran may be the start of a wider assault
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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. AFTER DECADES of shadow war between the Jewish State and the Islamic Republic, in the early hours of October 26th Israel carried out its first officially acknowledged attack on Iran. Dozens of warplanes flying at least 1,300km from their bases in Israel launched missiles against air-defence facilities and missile factories in three Iranian provinces, including on the outskirts of the capital, Tehran.
It is a measure of the sky-high levels of tension in the Middle East that the targets chosen by Israel, which were purely military, were perceived to be among the more limited of its options. Since Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles against Israel on October 1st, officials close to Binyamin Netanyahu had been talking up the Israeli prime minister’s view that a “historic opportunity" had opened up for landing a strategic blow on Iran. Instead Israel mainly hit Iran’s Russian-made S-300 air-defence radars and missile launchers, avoiding its nuclear sites.
Nor did the Israelis destroy vital economic targets such as oil-export terminals. This suggests that Israel is, for once, taking into consideration the pressure from its American ally. It may also suggest Israel is preparing the ground for a subsequent, much more devastating, strike.
The key to understanding Israel’s decision is the American political calendar. With America’s presidential election just ten days away, Israel had the choice of retaliating against military targets, with America’s tacit blessing, or defying President Joe Biden’s explicit warnings not to attack nuclear or energy-related facilities on the eve of the vote. The latter would have jeopardised future co-operation with a Democratic administration, should Kamala
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