Israel's attacks on Iran: scores settled?
On Friday night Israel carried out its announced strike in retaliation for Iran's missile attacks at the beginning of October. It remains unclear which targets were hit. Iran's reaction was ambivalent: Tehran insisted on its "right" to respond, while Ayatollah Khamenei said the attacks should "neither be exaggerated nor minimised". Europe's press breathes a sigh of relief.
Mission accomplished
Israel's retaliatory strike was a complete success, writes Polityka:
“Israel got what it wanted, even if it did not achieve its main goal of destroying Iran's nuclear potential. The first success is that the mission was carried out without losses. The 100 aircraft involved in the operation reached their targets and returned home safely, testing the route for future operations. ... Secondly, Israel hit a number of strategic installations, including factories producing missiles and drones, as well as rocket launch sites. This blow could prove painful for Iran (and for Russia, which is using Iranian drones to massacre Ukrainian cities). Thirdly, Israel has exposed the weakness of Iran's air defence systems.”
No one wants further escalation
Naftemporiki does not expect the two opponents to take any further action for the time being:
“Everything indicates that neither Israel nor Iran want to open a broader front: the Israelis informed the Iranians in advance and hit the country's military bases, but not its energy or nuclear facilities, while the Iranians played down the scale and consequences of the 'attack'. Everyone seems happy now: unless there's another 'accident', the episode should end here. Nobody seems to want the war to escalate.”
It all depends on Washington
As long as the US does not get involved in any war in the region the situation will not escalate, says Sabah:
“Israel's controlled and limited retaliatory strike against Iran should be read as the most concrete indication that the US is not ready for a regional war. This is evidenced by the fact that Israel's cautious, three-and-a-half-hour attack only targeted missile and unmanned aerial vehicle production centres and not nuclear and oil facilities. ... The picture that emerges is that neither Iran nor Israel has prevailed in this duel of retaliation. The pace and course of the conflict will be determined by the US.”
The balance of power has shifted
Iran's long-standing strategy of deterrence vis-à-vis Israel is no longer working, the Stuttgarter Zeitung concludes:
“Hamas and Hezbollah were previously central to Iran's strategy. The two militias were supposed to keep Israel in check and prevent it from launching a direct attack on Iran. With these two outposts, Iran has been able to wage its war against Israel without endangering its own territory. But that's over now. Hamas and Hezbollah are no longer 'effective tools' for Iran, says Israel's Defence Minister Gallant. The two terrorist militias have been weakened, which has shifted the balance of power in the long-standing conflict with Iran.”