The Middle East is a powder keg. Since the Hamas attack on October 7, this has been clear to everyone. Even if tensions between states had never subsided, this had always been hinted at. Now, after Iran and Israel have flexed their muscles at each other, the possibility of an escalation of the conflict is even more concrete. Iran has called Friday’s drone attack on its territory “unnecessary.” “The usurping Zionist regime (Israel) did not take responsibility for the action, and perhaps it was so useless that it was not worth making propaganda about it,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Naser Kanani said at a conference press in Tehran. «Israel never confirms or takes responsibility for its alleged actions against Iran. They were small objects aimed at malicious operations and fortunately they were shot down by the preparedness of Iranian forces,” the spokesperson added.
Iranian authorities assured that the attack involved three drones that were shot down without causing damage, while official American sources assured the New York Times that Israel launched at least one missile against a radar near the Natanz nuclear installations and the base Shekari aerial. Senior Iranian officials downplayed Friday’s attack, which, along with Israel’s silence, indicates a reduction in tension between the Jewish state and Iran following the exchange of attacks. The attack would have been a retaliation to the bombardment with hundreds of missiles and drones against Israel on Saturday the 13th, the first time that Iran directly attacked Israeli territory, which despite its spectacular nature caused almost no damage. «No civilians were injured and no homes or economic infrastructure were attacked. Only two intelligence bases were attacked. The (retaliatory) operation is over,” Kanani said.
