According to this article, Israel’s leaders have been discussing their options on how to respond to a recent attack that was launched by Iran, where Tehran targeted their enemy with more than 300 missiles and drones. After an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Iran’s attack on Israel was historic as this was the first time that Tehran directly targeted Israeli soil, despite decades of conflict. Usually Iran’s allies such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis would be the one to launch attacks on Israel. If Israel were to attack back to Iran, it would not be the first time as Israel has been targeting the country’s nuclear program for years as they fear the nuclear program could threaten their existence.
This article is concerning because as Israel is preparing their response to the attack, they have been responsible for many ranges of attacks against Iran from assassinating Iranian scientists, cyberattacks and drone strikes. If Israel were to hit back at Iran for the attack, it might take away the lives of Iranian citizens directly. The response might also threaten the United States’ national security as Israel is known to be a close ally. This might also put both Iran and Israel in direct war with each other after so many years of proxy wars from Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
In International Relations, we have discussed the Realist theory where states believe that the world is in anarchy and a state must acquire power to ensure order and security. Israel and Iran are under attack from each other and believe they must acquire more to face each other. We have also talked about the Security Dilemma, where states take action to ensure their own security and threaten the security of other states. In the process, because of Iran’s attack on Israel, the Israeli people will want to strike back to protect their security, but they could also endanger Iran’s security in the process.