Given this, Tehran can be expected to pull no punches. The question is whether there is any heft left in its punches.
Perhaps the statement by a spokesman of the country’s armed forces is telling: Israel and the US would receive a “forceful slap”, he said – not exactly a term designed to inspire fear of forceful retribution. At the time of writing, it has reportedly launched 100 drones in response, much fewer than Russia has thrown at Ukraine on an almost daily basis.
HOW MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES WILL RESPOND
The next key element is how the region will respond. Oman, where talks between the US and Iran were to have taken place this weekend, called Israel’s actions reckless.
Others have been predictable in calling out Tel Aviv. A few years ago, such a strike would likely have been greeted with barely restrained glee – behind closed doors, of course – in Arab capitals, particularly in the Gulf.
But over the past few years, many of those same leaders have sought rapprochement with Iran, deeming their economic transformation programmes existential efforts that must plough ahead, and that regional tensions were an unnecessary obstacle.
