Sigh of relief in West Asia; Israel in restraint mode, nixes retaliation plan

TEL AVIV: There is a sign of relief in West Asia after Israel decided to adopt restraint and not go for any immediate retaliation against Iran’s missile bombing. It was on Sunday morning that Iran attacked Israel by firing drones.

Israel earlier took a different approach and vowed to attack Iran immediately. However, all plans went awry after US President Joe Biden warned Israel about losing US support in case Tel Aviv attacks Tehran. Various world countries and the UN demanded that Israel exercise restraint. The airspace of Israel and neighbouring countries, which was closed in the wake of the attack, was reopened On Monday.

Meanwhile, Iran announced ending the attacks against Israel for now but warned about a ‘severe response’ if Israel retaliates. Tehran also threatened to attack the US bases in the region if Joe Biden endorses any sort of retaliation from Tel Aviv.

US, UK and even Jordan helped Israel to thwart the missiles from Iran in one joint operation. Jordan, a country currently mired in the Gaza offensive helped Israel minding the concern and safety of their own citizens, in case the Iran missiles demarcated the airspace into their region.

It is after 50 years of stalemate that Iran decided to attack Israel directly on Sunday. On the 1st of this month, Israel destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the Syrian capital. 13 people including two Iranian generals were killed.

• Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had vowed to retaliate against Israel
• Iranian army named the mission 'True Promise'
• At 1:30 am on Sunday, the drones flew 1,000 km from Iranian soil to Israel
• Missiles came from Houthi bases in Yemen and Hezbollah bases in Syria and Lebanon
• During the 5-hour-long attack, explosions were heard in Israeli cities including Tel Aviv
• Israel destroyed 99 per cent of drones/missiles. The U.S. has shot down any that crossed its airspace from Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen
• Damage to Nevatim Airbase in Al-Naqab desert in Israel. A 7-year-old girl suffered severe burns after missile debris hit Arad town