Amid the long-standing tension in the Middle East, Israel recently announced the completion of a major strike against Iran and said it had achieved its "military goals." The series of attacks occurred after the Iranian-backed organization Hamas launched an attack on Israel, further escalating the conflict between the two countries. The US government urged the world to put pressure on Iran to stop its attacks on Israel.

Israel's precision strikes on Iranian targets

In a statement in the early hours of October 26, the Israel Defense Forces pointed out that the Israeli Air Force carried out high-precision strikes on Iran's missile production facilities, surface-to-air missile positions and other military targets. The Israeli military said that these facilities posed a direct threat to Israel and said that its fighter jets returned safely during the operation. According to Iran's official news agency IRNA, the attacks took place in Tehran and its western provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam. Iran said it successfully intercepted most of the attacks and claimed that the losses were limited, but the details and evidence provided were limited.

The attack triggered an angry response from Iran's top leaders. Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Arif posted on social media that Iran will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and expressed contempt for external hostile forces. Iran's state media later reported that two Iranian soldiers were killed in the attack, but the details are unclear.

U.S. involvement and position

Although the operation was launched by Israel itself and the U.S. government was notified in advance, it was not directly involved. U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris closely followed the development of the situation. Biden said that the attack appeared to be limited to military targets and the United States encouraged Israel to take measures to minimize civilian harm. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and reiterated the United States' firm commitment to Israel's security and said that the United States will continue to maintain a military presence in the Middle East to guard against any potential regional threats.

In addition, a senior Pentagon official pointed out that Israel's response met the criteria of "targeted and proportionate". The United States made it clear that if Iran further provoked, it would bear the corresponding consequences. The Pentagon also said that it would continue to pay attention to the situation in the region to ensure that a full-scale conflict does not break out.

Many countries condemned the action, and the risk of escalation increased

After the Israeli airstrike, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries expressed their condemnation. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and other countries expressed dissatisfaction with Israel's actions, saying that this move could endanger regional security. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has even sternly warned that Israel's attack could push the entire region to the brink of a larger-scale war. Many countries in the Middle East called on Israel and Iran to exercise restraint and resolve tensions through diplomatic means as soon as possible.

Ongoing conflict background and proxy war

This airstrike is not only a direct conflict between Israel and Iran, but also a continuation of a proxy war. In April this year, Iran launched hundreds of cruise missiles and drones at Israel for the first time in response to Israel's previous air strikes on Syria. In early October, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard launched about 200 ballistic missiles again, further exacerbating tensions. Iran claimed that this was a retaliation for Israel's attack on the commander of the Revolutionary Guard. When Israel launched an attack from the Gaza Strip with the support of Hamas, it called it legitimate self-defense and continued to strike the strongholds of Iranian proxy organizations such as Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon.

International community's call and possible future direction

The United States called on the international community to exert influence and urge Iran to stop its provocative actions against Israel in order to ease the current tensions. A Pentagon spokesman pointed out that if Iran continues to provoke, Israel will continue to take retaliatory actions, and the two sides may fall into a cycle of "attack and retaliation", which poses a serious threat to peace and stability in the entire Middle East.

People's concerns were heard on social media in Iran. Many users uploaded videos of Tehran's air defense system firing during the air strike, clearly recording the missile interception scene in the night sky. In addition, the video also showed long queues at Tehran gas stations in the early morning, and people were panicked about the fuel shortage caused by potential war.

The attack once again revealed the complex political and religious contradictions in the Middle East, especially under the intertwined influence of countries such as Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the situation has become unpredictable. Experts believe that Middle Eastern countries and the international community should take diplomatic measures before the conflict escalates, and promote dialogue between Iran and Israel in political and economic aspects to reduce the possibility of direct military confrontation.

In the future, if the international community fails to effectively coordinate the interests of all parties, the risk of war in the Middle East may rise further.