The recent confrontation between Iran and Israel marks an escalation in an already unstable region, signaling a potentially dangerous trajectory in Middle Eastern geopolitics. On April 13, Iran launched drone and missile strikes against Israeli targets, a reprisal for an Israeli assault on the Iranian consulate in Syria approximately three weeks earlier.
After the retaliation, Israel’s TV channel Keshet 12 quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying there would be a “significant response” to the attack.
And things did escalate. In the early hours of April 19, the Israeli military launched a strike on Iran. According to Iranian officials, the attack targeted a military air base near Isfahan, a central city in Iran, with simultaneous explosions reported in Iraq and Syria.
This tit-for-tat pattern underscores a troubling continuity in the Middle East, creating…
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Beijing Review (Digital) - 1 Issue, Vol.67/No.18