Iran's Missile Attack On Israeli Territory Is The Beginning Of World War III?

Illustration of the Iranian flag and the Israeli flag. (Between/Shutterstock)

JAKARTA Iran's attack on Israel marks a major increase in the longstanding conflict between the two competing regional powers. Observers say this attack has the potential to trigger World War III.

The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) or Iranian state TV network reported that Iranian forces had launched hundreds of drone drones from the region to Israel on Saturday (13/4/2024) midnight.

According to Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Yahhi, at least 200 Iranian drones attacked Israel. The attack also involved cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

"Several missiles landed in Israel," said Daniel Marijuana, as reported byAP News.

This is a response to Israeli airstrikes against the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday (1/4/2024) at around 17.00 local time. Citing BBC, Israeli missiles at that time destroyed buildings and killed 13 people including key generals at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and several other officers.

This is Iran's first direct attack on Israel after years of both engaging in a shadow war'' or attacking each other's assets without acknowledging responsibility.

As a result of this attack, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to retaliate for the action. Meanwhile, Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saed Iravani revealed the reason for the attack as outlined in a letter addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres.

Iran's Islamic Republic will not hesitate to exercise self-defense rights attached to it if necessary. If the Israeli regime carries out further military aggression, Iran's response will definitely be stronger and firmer, and firmer, "the Iranian letter to the United Nations reads.

Before being involved in an open war like now, the fact is that Israel and Iran had had intimate relations until the Islamic Revolition in Iran in 1979 or when the Islamic Republic was founded. Iran was one of the first countries to recognize Israel after its establishment in 1948, when many Arab countries opposed it.

Under the power of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Iran approved a diplomatic cooperation proposal with Israel. Pro-Western Pahalavi sees Iran as having a bright future if relations with Israel are well established. At that time he was afraid of the aggression of the Soviet Union in the Middle East. Fear at any time Iran was affected by the communist regime of Soviet nature.

Good relations with Israel made Iran bright, especially in the economic sector. Marta Furlan in a study entitled Israeli-Iranian Relations (2022) explained that several Iranian cals had projects that benefited the results of the cooperation between Israel and the United States. The project has made state revenues increase rapidly. The two countries are also involved in the military sector.

But their intimacy was dashed in 1979, to be precise when the Iranian Revolution took place which made Reza Pahalavi no longer in power. This revolution turned Iran into the Islamic Republic of Iran which is fierce against Israel and the US.

Iran does not recognize Israel's right to life and seeks to eradicate it. Iran's supreme pioneer, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also called Israel a tumor of cancer' that would definitely be repealed and destroyed.

While Israel believes that Iran is a real threat as evidenced by Tehran rhetoric. For example, the formation of a proxy force that vowed to destroy Israel, the funding and supply of weapons against Palestinian groups including Hamas and the Shia militant group in Lebanon, Hezbollah, as well as a secret attempt to create nuclear weapons even though Iran denies trying to make a nuclear bomb.

Iran's blatant attacks on Israel are now a concern for many, as if breaking the focus where Israel is also still launching repeated attacks on Palestine.

The Russian government is one of those directly giving statements regarding Iran's attacks on Israel. Russia asks all parties in the region to exercise restraint.

"We rely on countries in the region to solve existing problems through political and diplomatic means," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Extreme concern over the latest dangerous escalation in the region," he added.

After Iran fired 300 missiles and drones of various types at Israel, concerns about possible escalation of the conflict to a global level.

Tensions in the Middle East region are also considered to have the potential to become the forerunner of World War III. This could have happened if the US interfered with helping Israel. The reason is, this will trigger other countries to support Iran.

"If the US will continue to assist Israel in the retaliatory attacks on Iran, it is not impossible that other countries such as North Korea and Russia will help Iran," said Professor of International Law at the University of Indonesia (UI) Hikmahanto, citing Kompas.

"The war in the Middle East will be resolved which leads to World War III which will certainly harm all mankind," he continued.