What Israel's strike on Iran tells us about Netanyahu

The conflict between Israel and Iran, fought out often in secret and through proxies, has now erupted with Israel carrying out strikes deep inside Iran, six days after Tehran’s attack that used more than 350 drones and missiles. Explosions were heard near the central city of Isfahan, which has a large airbase, a major missile production complex and number of nuclear facilities.

- KIM SENGUPTA

Videos from the city showed orange flashes in the night sky, along with sounds of what appeared to be sustained bursts of anti-aircraft artillery. Israel has so far maintained silence about what happened and the initial reaction of the Iranian authorities was to claim that nothing very serious has taken place.

American officials, however, confirmed the Israeli military action and Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that blasts had been heard in the city, activating local air defence systems.

Later Iranian officials said the Isfahan military base had been struck and a separate attack in Tabriz, 500 miles away, had been thwarted. However, attempts were still being made to play down what had unfolded.

One official said: “The foreign source of the incident has not been confirmed. We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack.” The source claimed the drones used actually may have been flown by saboteurs internally.

The US, UK and other Western states have been urging Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government not to carry out a direct assault on Iran, and the Biden administration has made clear it will not take part in any such mission. Israel could have targeted any of Iran’s allies: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syrian and Iraqi militias, and the Houthis in Yemen instead of Iran, so the Isfahan attack takes the strife between the two countries to a dangerous new level.