Gaza war: Israeli assassinations draw fiery rhetoric from Iran and Hezbollah – but regional escalation is unlikely
He left no mark on search engines or in coverage of Iran’s military and the Middle East.
- He left no mark on search engines or in coverage of Iran’s military and the Middle East.
- He had been the right-hand man of General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards’ branch for operations outside Iran.
- On January 2, an Israeli drone fired into a building in Dahiyeh, the southern suburb of Beirut where Hezbollah is based.
- They are telling Hamas, the Iran military and Hezbollah, “We can hit you anytime, anywhere,” and asking, “What are you going to do about it?”
Tough poses meet tougher realities
- Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi postured in a photo opportunity with Mousavi’s family.
- “This crime will definitely not go unanswered and the Zionist criminals will pay for this crime,” he said – without offering any specifics.
- The near-paralysed Lebanese government, with no president and 12 intermittent and inconclusive parliamentary sessions, could finally dissolve into anarchy.
- Asked by Amwaj Media if there would be retaliation for the assassinations, a “senior Iranian source” reflected: “Difficult decision.
Fighting the indirect war
- Meanwhile the world, if not the Israelis, can be unsettled by “indirect war”.
- Yemen’s Houthi insurgency, with political and military backing from Iran, are attacking civilian vessels in the Red Sea.
- But there is always a risk of a chain reaction that, response by response, will wind up in the second-front war that no one wants or intends.
Scott Lucas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.