AfroVerdict

Tit for Tat: Iran's Response to Israel's Attack on Consulate

On April 13-14, the world watched in fear as Iran launched a flotilla of drones at Israel for the latter attacking Iran's consulate in Syria. At the UN, Iran demanded condemnation for Israel, however all that was granted were calls not to escalate the situation. AfroVerdict joins an expert in Middle Eastern affairs to analyze the conflict.
Sputnik
Iran's retaliation to Israel's bombing of Iran's consulate did not come from thin air. Apart from the fact that as a result of the attack "a number of people were killed", the bigger issue is that it was "a violation of the Vienna Convention and a violation of international law, according to Mr. Na'eem Jeenah, Executive Director of the Afro-Middle East Centre.
He explains that this wasn't the first time Iranian assets have been destroyed by Israel. Previous attacks include "numerous attacks on Iranian bases, on Iranian military personnel" in Syria, "assassination of nuclear scientists, suspected as being Israeli operations", apart from "Israel bombing from the air within Iran itself".

"Now, we might say that there have been some attacks by Iranian partners or some might say proxies, etc., but Iran itself has not launched a single direct attack against Israel until Saturday night. So clearly, the attack on the consulate was too much to bear and was also kind of the last straw on the camel's back," Mr. Jeenah says.

Although the "Iranians say the matter is concluded" after targeting military installations and bases in Israel, the Israeli "security cabinet meeting a few days ago said that they will respond". This will begin a "new cycle of aggression against Iran", Mr. Jeenah believes.

"The current Israeli government has proven itself not to be a rational actor, very ideologically driven, driven by racism, certainly hatred of the Iranians and hatred of the Palestinians," the expert explains.

Despite Saturday's action being a "message", a "new round of aggression" will result in "serious retaliation."

"If that happens, I think that we would be at the cusp of a possible regional war that could engulf the region bringing other players into the mix, and possibly go beyond the region and bring players outside the region, such as the United States into the mix, and we could be looking at an extremely messy situation," he says.

To hear what else the expert had to say, check out the entire episode of the AfroVerdict podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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