Israel retaliating for Oct 1 Iran missile attack.......

[AZmikey]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel pounded Iran with a series of airstrikes early Saturday, saying it was targeting military sites in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired upon Israel earlier in the month.

Explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, though the Islamic Republic insisted they caused only “limited damage.”

The attack risks pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiraling violence across the Middle East, where militant groups backed by Iran — including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — are already at war with Israel.

Saturday marked the first time Israel's military has openly attacked Iran, which hasn't faced a sustained barrage of fire from a foreign enemy since its 1980s war with Iraq.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/israeli-airstrike-journalist-compound-kills-043125426.html

[dutch777]

1. While understandably inevitable, would have been better to wait until after the US election. Wonder if...

...Iran and allies respond with coordinated drone/missile/rocket attack. Don't know they have the capability (sufficient numbers of launchers and trained crews) but they have enough weapons to overwhelm Israeli defenses by sheer numbers IF they have that level of simultaneous launch capabilities. I worry too that if they figure out how to use advance chaff dispersing missiles to blind radar it could be bad in terms of how many weapons get thru defenses.

[AZmikey]

3. Maybe this paves the way for a ceasefire fire?

Everybody knew Israel was going to respond, and I believe a cease fire was on hold until after Israel responded. The response was limited to military targets. Israel quickly came out and said the attack was over and Iran media is downplaying the attack. Not something you do when looking to broaden/escalate the conflict.

Maybe wishful thinking-but seems to me nobody wants to escalate from here, potentially leading to ceasefire talks…… A ceasefire before the election would be welcome news.. time will tell.