Iran’s strike on Israel raises tensions in Middle East

'Attack him where he is unprepared; appear where you are not expected.'

Sun Tzu, in The Art of War, emphasised the value of the unanticipated.

The Iranians did the opposite; they gave ample advance warnings of an impending attack, which ultimately rendered the attack militarily ineffective.

Its strikes consisted of drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles. The vast majority of these were shot down before even reaching Israeli airspace. This was due to the activation of a well-organised defensive plan (set in anticipation of the promised Iranian attacks), which consisted of fighter jets, radar, warships, and integrated air and missile defence systems.

A large failure

It would be fair to say the Iranian operation was a large failure, as 99 per cent of drones and missiles were intercepted. The remaining one per cent caused zero Israeli casualties and fatalities, with minor damage to two airbases.

The only positive for Iran was sending a new message to Israel and its allies: that they are now willing to respond directly, rather than use proxies.

Although this attack was a failure, Iran’s ability to harm Israel shouldn’t be underestimated. Iranian-controlled paramilitaries are well entrenched and well-armed on the Syrian and Lebanese borders with Israel.

On the command of the IRGC, these paramilitary groups could likely launch a surprise two-pronged attack on Israel using thousands of rockets, missiles, drones, anti-tank weapons, and mortar and artillery fire. This type of attack has the potential to overwhelm Israeli air defences and cause a considerable amount of damage.

The aim was not a military victory

It is quite obvious that given the abundance of prior notice, the Iranian counter-strikes were never meant to inflict considerable damage of any military description.

On the contrary, despite being archenemies for the past half a century, the two nations have never acknowledged launching a direct attack on the other. So Sunday's move suggests that something major has happened in order to change the status quo.

And I do not refer only to the recent deaths of a number of Iranian servicemen, as there have been numerous Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear and other infrastructure in past years.

Ask where this all leads

The Zionist state decimated an Iranian consulate in Damascus, this is appalling to say the least. But with Iran's direct response, what happens next?

If Israel responds in kind, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabian airspace will likely be utilised — either with consent or without — to deliver strikes upon Iran.

What will be of interest is observing which countries ultimately favour Israel in this tit-for-tat situation, and where a line will be drawn on the matter.

Over the years, many commentators have claimed that some members of the Saudi government, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are close to the Israeli regime.

At the same time, Iran is deeply allied with the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who has been slaughtering hundreds of thousands since at least 2011.

It seems the case that both Iran and Israel are two sides of the same coin, both evil in intent and both unwilling to back down anytime soon.

But this is a distraction from Gaza!

None of what has been mentioned matters more than the situation in Gaza, where approximately 33,000 have been murdered during the Zionist state's genocide.

We have seen numerous instances where news reports are manufactured and prolonged in order to divert the public's attention away from real issues. Might this not be a textbook example of that in action?

What is stopping Israel from ratcheting up its brutal attacks on innocent Palestinians while the world looks the other way, not on account of being desensitised and uncaring (as has already been the case for six months) but on account of the media industry deliberately focusing on side issues?

We hold a keen interest in the wellbeing of Muslims across the globe, and with al-Aqsa at grave threat, we need to focus on that which the mainstream media may at times do a dreadful job of reporting.

We need to continue to research in our own ways and stay on top of the affairs of all Muslims, because it is often the case that nobody will help us in this endeavour but ourselves.