Tensions between Israel and Iran are increasing following the assassination of Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior member of the Quds Force of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Meanwhile, Arab media sources are still trying to understand possible ways the Islamic Republic will react. Ali Nouri Zadeh, a commentator on Iranian affairs, was interviewed on Wednesday by news network Al Hadath, which is affiliated with Saudi state-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya. Zadeh said that despite Iran’s threats in the past, Tehran is well aware that Israel is prepared for any confrontation.
According to him, “[Iranian Supreme Leader] Khamenei has already threatened Israel in the past that he will strike Haifa and Tel Aviv in mere minutes if Israel kills senior Iranian officials. But this has not happened. After the death of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian IRGC, threatened severe revenge, and we heard expressions like ‘destroy Israel,’ ‘destroy Tel Aviv,’ and ‘destroy this or that area.’ However, this did not happen because the Iranian regime is well aware that Israel is prepared for this confrontation and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wishes for this confrontation to happen.”
He also claimed that “Israel has collaborators in the most sensitive ranks of the IRGC, with them even managing to steal 50,000 documents from Iran without any resistance. As for striking diplomatic sites, Iran was the first to do so. It destroyed the US embassy in Beirut. It seized the US embassy in Tehran. This is the meaning of violating the embassies’ immunity. Israel took advantage of this in particular because the Iranian military command was established in the Iranian consulate.”
Iran’s will not respond with direct force
He concluded his remarks by saying, “Today, demonstrations were held in Palestine Square in Tehran. This is the Islamic Republic of Iran’s reaction, and perhaps some of the proxy organizations operating under it will launch some missile or drone.”
“Still, Iran will not enter into a direct conflict with Israel. Israel is well aware of this, and therefore, it will use any Iranian escalation to respond because Israel will then make excuses to the US that it is under attack and that Iran wants to eliminate Israel, which will provide it justification to defend itself. There are wise men in Iran who are content with lashing out with harsh and inflammatory threats, but we won’t see such actions coming true any time soon.”
