Iran accuses Israel of killing Iranian military commanders and others in airstrike on consulate in S

Top Iranian commander killed in attack on consulate in Syria, Iran state-affiliated media report.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/01/middl...ntl/index.html

I can just hear the "world" saying that Israel should not "escalate tensions." The world has spent years trying to avoid "escalat(ing) things in the Middle East. It has never worked.

During the 1930s, Britain pandered to the Arabs, seeking their permission to allow Jewish immigration. Of course, that was never forthcoming. When the Jews in the "yishuv" decided to start fighting the British, they got their state. They would not have gotten it otherwise. In 1948 The US and other countries tried to defer Israel's getting independence under the November 29, 1947 U.N. resolution because of the fear of Middle Eastern reaction. Middle Eastern reaction was going to be hostile regardless of what was done.

Right now I am reading First Strike: The Exclusive Story of How Israel Foiled Irag's Attempt to Get the Bomb by Shlomo Nakdimon about Israel's attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor. The book details how countries such as France and Italy caved to iraqi demands by exchanging nuclear technology in return for a promise of supply of oil. That od was going to be supplied regardless because Iraq has only one use of oil to sell it.

Appeasement never ends well.

Even forces within the Israeli government, surprisingly including Menachem Begin, argued against escalating Mideast tensions. That never works. When the attack happened, there was grumbling on the part of many world countries, and gratitude on the part of many others. Often, their gratitude was kept secret.
Israel has only been successful when going on the offensive. Negotiations only work when a country or group has lost, as had Egypt lost in the 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973 wars. Anwar Sadat did not come to Jerusalem to see the mount of olives. He came because his country was defeated.

It sucks to be on the losing side.
.

 

...and everyone involved is losing.

 

I'm not sure I follow.

 

Maybe he means the zionist jews are exposing themselves for what they are?

 

This war is good for nobody. Not Israel, not Iran, not the Palestinians, not the USA… nobody.
This latest attack stinks of Netanyahu trying to broaden the conflict to keep it going, and to get the US more involved. Hopefully we don’t take the bait.

Netanyahu knows that when this war is over,, so is his political career.

 

Israel has tried to deter an appropriate response from Iran in the past by having its minions reveal that a war with Iran will see Israel quickly use nukes (e.g., see here), especially if the US doesn't get involved to attack Iran for them. The supposed justification for resorting to nukes and Iran's tactical response highlighted in this passage from a piece in the Business Insider last month.
https://www.businessinsider.com/iran-flaunts-new-missile-analysts-say-no-game-changer-2024-2
Iran flaunts a new ship-fired missile, but analysts say it's no game-changer

 

Iran could also hit Israel using drones like the one which hit an Israeli naval base in Eliat a couple of days ago.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/eilat-bay-building-damaged-by-drone-apparently-launched-from-iraq/
Eilat naval base damaged by drone apparently launched from Iraq
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveb...l-base-was-made-in-iran-and-directed-by-iran/
IDF says drone which hit Eilat naval base was ‘made in Iran and directed by Iran’

 

When our mandate ran out we left Palestine, dividing it between the children of Abraham, no one defeated us. Unfortunately they've continued killing one another ever since.

 

It "sucks" for everyone at this point because everyone is losing. No one is gaining anything, suffering is increasing, tensions are mounting, instability is increasing, lives are being wasted. There is little understanding and even less desire to understand on the part of most people, especially those in positions of power. Worse, those in power have continued for decades directly at this catastrophe despite the certainty of what has occurred. This gives little hope for any genuine resolution.

 

Well done.

 

It's addition by subtraction.

 

Iran doesn't have to escalate. Some modest tit for tat response is all that is in order.

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake" - Napoleon Bonaparte

 

https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-israel-pressure-retaliation-damascus-irgc/32888301.html
With Its Deterrence Strategy Weakened, Iran Faces Pressure To Hit Israel

The menu of more realistic retaliatory options by Iran, from highest risk option to the least risky, are IMO basically as follows:

1. Target Israeli diplomatic missions 'of concern' (e.g. in Azerbaijan or UAE or Bahrain etc) directly via drones and missiles fired from Iranian territory
2. Target Israeli diplomatic missions 'of concern' (e.g. in UAE or Bahrain or in Africa) directly via drones and missiles fired from Iranian warships
3. Target IDF headquarters in the Golan directly via drones and missiles fired from Iran
4. Attack Israeli ships in Israeli territorial waters via drones and missile
5. Any of 1-4 using an allied group, most likely the Islamic Resistance in Iraq for 1-3 and Hezbollah for #4, supplying them if necessary with sufficient numbers of the "appropriate weapons" (ballistic missiles, drones) to make a notable impact
6. Attack Israeli ships outside Israeli territorial waters via drones and missile
   
7. Attack an Israeli affiliated site in Iraq's Kurdish region

 

Iran is already attacking Israel and Israelis in their own country and abroad for decades, through Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, Houthis, and other vermin. What should the menu of more realistic retaliatory options by Israel be?

 

In this age of sophisticated technology, it is possible for things ( MANY things) to be attacked and the attacker cannot be identified (remember the Baltic pipeline?). Rather than attack things in muslim countries, I would think that Iran would be more interested to hit the USA too. Like maybe the Israeli embassy in DC... and we could only guess who the attacker was. Confusion is the terrorist's friend.

 

Iran has been interested in hitting the USA since 1979. Nothing to do with Israel and the Palestinians. The USA is the quintessential enemy of totalitarian regimes.

However, I doubt that Iran would risk attacking your country before the elections. Biden and the Democrats can easily be swayed against Israel now when they aggressively court the Muslim vote, but an attack on American soil is likely to change minds and hearts, elections notwithstanding.

 

You could very possibly be right. But the environment is so complex that no prediction is reliable.

I was just saying that if say, New York was nuked. It could be done in a way that there would be no way to determine who actually did it. That's very tempting for Iran, who is not interested in conquest, just killing infidels and gaining entrance to PARADISE.

 

Agree 100%. The deranged Netanyahu considers this a win-win for himself, postponing his political demise. Attacking another country in the region can only derail any peace efforts in the Middle East for generations to come. He has destroyed any credibility claim for any future Israeli leader. In addition, he is trying to stir up division in the US, in an effort to get Trump reelected. Citizens of Israel are now guaranteed to live under a constant state of threat to their well-being for generations because of this single act of lunacy.

 

I agree. And hell, Even Trump is starting to turn on him. When that happens, you know you have gone way too far, seeing how supportive Trump has been in the past of Israel, even putting the US embassy in Jerusalem.

 

You must have missed that Hamas attadcked Israel, killing civilians, murdering whole families and beheading babies. Israel reacted by invading Gaza with the goal of ensuring it destroyed Hamas' ability to ever do that again. It's much like what the Allie did to Germany in WWI when Germany attacked other countries in Europe or what we did to Japan when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Hamas has the destruction of Israel outlined in its founding documents. Israel is fighting for its existence... nothing more... nothing less.

 

Maybe Hamas could announce that they are disarming, releasing the hostages, and forswearing violence?

 

If they don't, does that mean another 30,000 innocents need to die? Because they probably won't. If anything, their ranks are being swelled by family members of those murdered by the IDF.

 

So what you’re saying is that a party who is not defeated on the battlefield should surrender? I get it.

 

Uh, no. Nobody needs to "surrender". Nobody else needs to die. What is needed is honest diplomacy that is equitable for both sides that ends with a two state solution, and the damage to Gaza repaired. Enough senseless slaughter of innocents has occurred, enough for multiple wars. This nonsense needs to end.

 

That is NOT the history. Britain (who didn't want the Jews in their homeland like every other country) helped Israeli settlers slaughter the Palestinians and steal their lands, homes, and businesses after the Balfour Declaration. They even used Palestinians as human shields at times. This is 100% the mess of the Brits.