Since Iran launched a hybrid long-range strike against Israel with drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, the question of whether the Israeli military retaliates against Iran has become key to the continuation of the Middle East war. In order to stop Israel's counterattack, Biden even told Netanyahu "you won" at the first moment. There is also information that the United States, in order to prevent Israel from launching a large-scale long-range missile in retaliation against Iran, agreed to the Israeli army to attack Rafah. However, Israel, as the "little bully of the Middle East", its cabinet finally passed a resolution authorizing the military to retaliate against Iran, which also means that the Israeli army has not given up the right to counterattack. Iran, for its part, has said that the retaliatory action against the Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria is over, and that Iran will launch "unprecedented" weapons against Israel in the event of a large-scale Israeli retaliation against Iranian proper.
Against this backdrop, U.S. officials confirmed that an Israeli missile had hit a target in Iran's Isfahan province, and a loud explosion was heard. There is also information that Israeli air strikes may have been aimed at Iran's nuclear facilities. The Iraqi provinces of Baghdad and Babylon, as well as the southern Syrian province of Suweida, were also attacked. When you see this news, you must think that Israel is crazy at this moment, and if Iran retaliates against Israel, a war in the Middle East will break out. As a result, the truth caught people off guard. These so-called Israeli retaliation for Iranian attacks are very bizarre. After the US media hyped it, Israeli Army Radio said that two Israeli security officials confirmed that Israeli forces had launched an attack on Iran. Soon after, a number of videos of the massive explosion after the attack on Iran appeared on the Internet, and it turned out that the pictures were all fake. Iranian state television later confirmed that the explosions in many parts of Iran were nothing more than air defense systems intercepting the noise of several suspicious drones. Not only are Iran's nuclear facilities safe, but there have been no missile strikes on Iran's territory. In addition, there is an argument that Israel fired only three missiles at targets in Iran, but without serious consequences.
Are you confused when you see this, on the one hand, the US media hype, on the other hand, the Israelis admit to retaliating, and on the other hand, Iran says that it has not been attacked by missiles.
This raises the question: Does Israel's show-style retaliatory action mean another round of escalation of the war in the Middle East? The answer may be the opposite.
On the one hand, from Israel's point of view, there is a need for a military retaliation against Iran's attack on the Israeli mainland, but if only a few drones are launched, or a missile or two, this retaliation can be said to be picked up and gently put down. There is a world of difference between the attack by a few drones and the Iranian launch of more than 120 missiles against Israel. Israel's move would not only give an account to the hardliners at home, but would also prevent Iran from continuing to retaliate with long-range attacks. There's a deeper implication here: I don't want to escalate the war. Iran is likely to swallow the consequences of this attack, because it is not so cost-effective to retaliate on a large scale.
On the other hand, if Israel also attacks pro-Iranian forces in Syria and Iraq at the same time, it will also signal its reluctance to go to war with Iran directly. Israel's move is not only proving that Syria and Iraq are not normal sovereign states, but also telling Iran that I am fighting the Shiite forces you support, or that Israel is admitting that the two sides will return to the mode of proxy war. Israel has been in direct confrontation with Iranian-backed proxies for years in order to avoid a direct war with Iran, a situation that Israel, Iran, the United States, and other Arab countries in the Middle East would prefer to see.
So how will Iran fight back against Israel in the future? It should return to supporting Hamas, Allah in Lebanon, and Shiite militants in Syria and Iraq. These proxies would not only attack Israeli targets, but also pose a huge threat to the U.S. military presence in the Middle East.
It can be seen that Israel's retaliatory actions are mainly for show, that is, to give an explanation to the domestic hardliners, and the US media has cooperated throughout the process, while Iran can also understand the logic behind it and choose to swallow the bitter fruit. All this indicates that the risk of a war in the Middle East has been fully released, and the mode of struggle between the two sides will return to the past, nothing has changed, and all sides are happy.