Tempered

FIRST PERSON

- ALEX MAGNO

Oil prices will not spike to $100 per barrel. At least, not at this time.

Over the last few days, global oil prices have softened. This was after Iran downplayed the Israeli counterattack on its military facilities. Israel, for its part, declared that this particular operation was completed.

Last Friday, Israel launched missile attacks across three Iranian provinces, including Tehran. About 140 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) planes participated in this attack. At least half of pilots who joined this effort were reservists. A significant number were women.

Iran did not specify the damage it incurred. This is its usual practice.

Israel was more forthcoming in its damage assessment. Its pilots attacked Iranian air defense systems and missile production facilities. As a result, the Iranian military is now virtually blind and vulnerable to further attacks from the air. The attack destroyed Iranian missile production sites.

The Islamic country will be unable to produce missiles for at least two years. Tel Aviv claims all of Iran's long-range missiles have been destroyed, leaving the country with only short- and medium-range missiles.

Iran is estimated to still have about 2,000 operational missiles - none of them capable of the range needed to attack Israel.

This might sound perverse: the scale and targeting of the Israeli attack was the best possible outcome.

It satisfies the need to retaliate against Iran's Oct. 1 bombardment of the Jewish state. But it was not of such scale as to justify the entry of other powers into this regional conflict.