Middle East braces for Iran’s next move as Israel strikes Hezbollah
Iran has so far shown little rush to retaliate against Israel for the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
When an Iranian consulate building was destroyed in Syria in April, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to punish Israel. What followed was a huge, yet telegraphed assault and no all-out war.
Three months later, the military chief of Iran-backed Hezbollah and Hamas’ political head were killed within hours of each other. The wider regional conflict seen by some as imminent didn’t end up erupting.
Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday in Beirut dealt an even bigger blow. But it’s still unlikely to trigger a direct war with the Islamic Republic, according to current and former US and Middle East government officials and regional experts.
Instead, Iran will focus on rebuilding the militant group in Lebanon and keeping its network of proxies in action for as long as possible, they said.
For all the sabre rattling, what Iran calls its powerful “axis of resistance” in reality has seen its soft underbelly exposed again. Both Hezbollah, the most important asset in that axis, and Iran itself have been weakened and have few options, making it unlikely they will escalate the conflict, according to a person familiar with US thinking.
