Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to trap the west into a total war across the Middle East that would have incalculable consequences for the region and the world, Iran’s top diplomat in the UK has claimed, in his first interview since Tehran launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack against Israel at the weekend.
Seyed Mehdi Hosseini Matin also warned that if Israel made “another mistake” by launching an attack on Iran, there would be a response from Iran that was stronger, more severe, and administered without a warning like that issued before the weekend attack.
The salvo of more than 300 drones and missiles – almost all of which were intercepted by Israel and its allies or fell short of their targets – came in retaliation for a 1 April airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, that killed several Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards officers. Israel’s top general, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, has said the country would respond, but it remains unclear what form that would take.
I find it interesting that they said there’d be a larger response if Israel retaliated 2 days ago, but now they’re saying there will be no response to Israel’s retaliatory strike.
Probably just an effort to discourage escalation. They don’t have diplomatic relations so they’re always signalling through military and public statements. Iran doesn’t want a direct war with Israel and wants to go back to the shadow war they’ve been fighting for decades. They’ve been sabre-rattling militarily and pressuring restraint diplomatically since their attack. They’re obviously not going to say “attacking us in a limited way is totally cool,” but I think the takeaway is basically “we won’t escalate if you won’t.”