Peloni: As Hezbollah is caught in a state of dissembling chaos, it was left to the Mullahs to either respond on their own or not at all. They chose to launch a vast ballistic missile assault on Israel, providing Israel with an inarguable basis for dealing with the Mullahs directly. Of course, it can not be known what the context might have been which brought Iran’s leadership to make such a decision, but they will come to find in due time that no matter the basis for doing so, this was an extraordinary mistake.
Iran has assumed for too long that it can wreak havoc without retribution – that needs to change.
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN | OCTOBER 1, 2024
A person uses a phone on the ground, on the day Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Ammar Awad TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
Iran’s massive ballistic missile attack on Israel on October 1 is part of the Tehran regime’s attempt to make these types of attacks a new normal. They carried out a large attack in April and threatened another attack in August. This has led Israel into crisis each time as people must be prepared to go to shelters, and activities are canceled.
We have become too used to the idea that hundreds of Iranian missiles can fly through the sky of Israel. Because Israel has air defenses, these kinds of unprecedented attacks, which would usually mark the beginning of a major war, are portrayed as acceptable. Media abroad portrays them as Iran trying to “retaliate” or “even the score” or “deter” Israel. This is a false attempt to downplay the Iranian threat.
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