Old Zhou
Abstract: Since April, the conflict between Israel and Iran has gradually surfaced, and the two sides have begun to strike directly and retaliate against each other, but most people did not expect that in just half a month, the retaliation and counter-retaliation between the two sides will end here. The sixth Middle East war, which many feared by many, did not break out at all, and everything was calm. Who is the biggest winner in this round of conflict game?
Since April, the conflict between Israel and Iran has gradually surfaced, and the two sides have begun to strike directly and retaliate against each other, but most people did not expect that in just half a month, the retaliation and counter-retaliation between the two sides will end here. The sixth Middle East war, which many feared by many, did not break out at all, and everything was calm. Who is the biggest winner in this round of conflict game?
Let's first sort out the current conflict between Israel and Iran.
On the afternoon of April 1, Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jets launched missiles at the Iranian embassy in Syria and beheaded two heavyweights of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Brigadier General Zahedi and his deputy, Brigadier General Rahimi, the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force.
Iran reacted immediately and strongly, with Supreme Spiritual Leader Ayatollah Ali Ali Khamenei saying three times that it would retaliate, and a number of senior Iranian officials saying that they would make Israel pay the price.
Due to the gravity of the incident, not only did the two high-ranking Revolutionary Guard generals behead, but also the attack on the Iranian embassy, which was equivalent to an attack on Iranian territory. Therefore, military observers generally believe that Iran will definitely retaliate, otherwise it will not be able to face the hardliners at home and the anti-American and anti-Israel armed groups in the Middle East, and its influence and prestige in the Middle East will be seriously defeated.
In the early hours of April 14, Iran fired a total of more than 320 missiles and drones into the Israeli mainland, but they were intercepted by Israel, as well as by the United States, the United Kingdom, and even Jordan and Saudi Arabia, most of which were intercepted before entering Israeli territory, and only a few missiles fell into the desert of southern Israel, injuring only a 10-year-old child.
In accordance with decades of tradition, Israel would be doubly rewarded if attacked, and this time it was an unprecedented attack on the homeland, albeit with very small losses, but the nature of the attack was extremely serious. As a result, most military observers believe that Israel is likely to retaliate. In this way, the two sides are likely to form a cycle of constant revenge and revenge, and even trigger a new round of war in the Middle East.
On 20 April, Israel's retaliation finally took place. After three days, the specifics of Israel's counterattack became clear, with seven Iranian cities, including the capital, Tehran, initially reported. It is now certain that the message is false. Israel has attacked only one site in Isfahan, Iran, in addition to targets by Iranian-backed militant groups in Iraq and Syria.
I am afraid that many people will gasp when they hear that Isfahan is the location of Iran's nuclear facilities! However, Israel is not attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. Both Iran and the IAEA have confirmed that the nuclear facilities are safe and sound without any problems.
Initial reports of an airstrike on Isfahan airbase, which is the base for American-made F-14 Tomcat fighter jets of the Iranian Air Force. The F-14 fighter was the era of the Pahlavi kings, as one of the most important allies of the United States in the Middle East, and received the F-14 fighter provided by the United States, in the 1980s, the F-14 fighter was the most advanced fighter, and the technology was greatly ahead of similar fighters.
In the Iran-Iraq war, the F-14 fighter jet beat almost all types of fighters of the Iraqi Air Force. So much so that in the Gulf War, as long as the Iraqi Air Force received the radar signal of the F-14, it immediately fled, and it did not have the courage to fight at all, and completely fled, until today, this antique-class fighter that has been in service for nearly 50 years is still the strongest fighter of the Iranian Air Force. Therefore, along the way, this air raid on the base of the F-14 fighter is also reasonable.
However, it was eventually confirmed that Israel dispatched three F-35 fighter jets to launch three missiles each outside Iranian airspace and that it was not attacking Isfahan air base.
So what is the target that Israel is attacking? Is it the air defense system of Iran's nuclear facilities! It has accurately destroyed the radar at the core of the air defense system. This is obviously Israel's warning and deterrence to Iran, as reported by foreign media, Israel sent an unmistakable signal with 3 missiles - Israel can destroy Iran's nuclear facilities at any time if it wants to!
In response to Israel's retaliatory attack, Iran said air defense forces shot down three drones from the opposition inside Iran, and the drones caused no damage. Hehe, Iran simply came to a complete denial. Iran's refusal to recognize Israel's responsibility means that Iran will not retaliate against Israel in a second wave.
The United States and Western countries have also called on Israel to exercise restraint and refrain from further escalating tensions. At the same time, the United States agreed to Israel's attack on Rafah, the last stronghold of Hamas in Gaza, and announced that it would provide Israel with $1 billion in the latest weapons.
Obviously, the United States is putting pressure on Israel with both hard and soft measures, so let's stop there, and be forgiving.
This round of the Israeli-Iranian conflict looks very treacherous, and Iran's counterattack is more like a show, and the United States has been notified of the time and target of the attack even before the attack begins. And Israel's retaliation is also very different from the previous practice of repaying the favor.
At the end of the day, neither Israel, nor Iran, nor the United States want the situation to escalate. Israel and Iran retaliate against each other not so much as to hit their opponents as to deal with hardliners at home. The high-level leaders of both sides maintained a high degree of restraint and rationality, and did not overreact violently, and it can even be said that they cooperated with each other and performed a vivid big fool.
All is calm again, and the conflict is just a dramatic episode in a big drama.
So who is the beneficiary of this round of Israeli-Iraq conflict? Of course, it is Israel, because it was Israel that attacked the Iranian embassy and provoked the incident, and also beheaded two heavyweight generals of the Revolutionary Guards. The fact that Israel is doing this is only one of the reasons why it wants to eliminate these two important objectives, the most important of which is that on March 25, the United States abstained from voting and the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. This has not only made the contradictions between the United States and Israel superficial, but also made Israel extremely dissatisfied. That's why I played this play, which made the United States and the Western world ride a roller coaster, conveying that as long as it wants, Israel can set off a big storm in the Middle East, and if you want the situation in the Middle East to be stable now, you have to appease Israel well, and it is impossible not to make some concessions and compromises. Remind the United States that Israel's interests must be taken into account. On April 18, the United States voted against the UN Security Council and vetoed a resolution for the State of Palestine to become a member of the UN. I can't help but say that there is no reason why Israel is doing this in the middle.
(The picture in this article comes from the Internet)
Lao Zhou, whose real name is Zhou Ming, once used the screen name Guangting, has been engaged in the study of military war history for a long time, and has served as a guest on military columns on Phoenix Satellite TV and Shanghai TV many times. He has published more than 20 military books, which can be consulted and purchased on the micro-store "Zhibingtang Bookstore" and a treasure online store "Zhibingtang Bookstore". Now there is a personal column "Lao Zhou Military" on Himalaya, which produces military audio programs. The "Old Zhou New Observation" video account has been set up on major video platforms to interpret military hot spots, please support.