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An anti-Israel billboard with a picture of Iranian missiles is seen in a street in Tehran, Iran April 15, 2024.
Despite calls from world leaders for all parties to show restraint, Israel says it will soon hit back at Iran over its unprecedented air attack this weekend. On Monday, Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevisaid Tehran’s attack “will be met with a response.”
Though the barrage of over 300 drones and missiles was largely intercepted and caused minimal damage, it marked the first-ever direct attack on Israeli soil by Iran – raising pressure for the Jewish state to retaliate.
As the Israeli war cabinet considered how to respond, a government spokesperson on Monday said “Israel retains all its options.”
What comes next? Iran expects Israel to hit back and is “likely prepared to absorb a degree of Israeli retaliation if it keeps things on a de-escalatory trend,” says Gregory Brew, an Iran expert at Eurasia Group, which would probably “include Israeli attacks on Iran's assets in the region.”
“But an Israeli attack on a high-value target, such as senior IRGC officers, or an Israeli attack against Iran itself (which is a major regime red-line), would likely be viewed from Iran as escalation and prompt renewed Iranian actions,” Brew adds. Israel is also calling for sanctions to be imposed on Iran's missile project.
Iran’s top diplomat, Hossein Amirabdollahian, on Monday warned that if Israel launches an attack the Iranian response will be "immediate, stronger and more extensive."