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The Israel-Iran War has the potential to culminate into WW3 and most military experts already believe that WW3 began with the Russia-Ukraine War and one thing led to the other. A war with Iran was long overdue. Israel and the USA time and again stated their intent to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program, whereas Iran tried to contain their actions using proxies and local militias.
Both parties engaged in the region and hurting each other’s interests. Over the years the cradle of civilization is turning into a clock for doomsday. Three dates in so far are essential for understanding the escalation ladder. They are October 7, 2023, April 1, 2024, and April 14, 2024. Let us try and understand each one of these incidents separately.
Israel-Iran War: Ismail Haniyeh Assassinated
A flash point in the war is the assassination of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on 31st July 2024 in Tehran (Iran) causing major embarrassment to Iran. Israel calls Iran the “Serpent’s Head” whereas Iran labels Israel as an epitome of Zionism. Iran promises to retaliate against this incident with a direct strike against Israel, however, the officials say that if a ceasefire agreement is reached between Hamas and Israel, Iran will not retaliate. The Middle East or The New West Asia is on the boil and countries across the globe are asking for de-escalation but the humanitarian situation is in a dire state.
Israel-Iran War: What happened on October 7?
On October 7, 2023, armed men from Gaza breached the security wall of Israel and entered Israel killing Israeli citizens, Raping & abducting close to 240 Israeli Citizens taking them as hostages. They were the members of a radical political wing Hamas which governs the Gaza Strip. Gaza Strip is part of Palestine. Palestine includes two regions (the Gaza Strip and the West Bank). Israel claims that Hamas has been trained, supported & funded by Iran. The details of the attack of October 7 are elaborated in great detail in an article published by AP.
Israel-Iran War: What happened on April 1, 2024?
On 1 April 2024, Israel conducted an airstrike on the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, Syria, destroying the building housing its consular section. The strike resulted in the killing of 16 people including 8 IRGC officials and 2 Syrian civilians. Iran objected to this incident as a clear-cut violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Iran expected countries to condemn this attack on its embassy, but expectations fell short and hence bitterness toward Israel escalated to a war-like situation.
Israel-Iran War: What happened on April 14, 2024?
On April 14 Iran struck Israel with a massive barrage of drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles numbering up to 300 projectiles. The Iron Dome (short-range air defense system), David’s Sling (Medium to long range) & Arrow Air Defence System intercepted most of them. The axis of resistance namely Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis & Islamic Resistance also played their role in engaging Israel, the UK & the USA who were countering the Iranian attack. Almost 97%-99% of the attack was thwarted (as per various sources) and most of the missiles and drones were downed by the combined efforts of the allies (Israel, Jordan, the UK & the USA )
Israel-Iran War: What happened on April 19, 2024?
On April 19 Israel took revenge for the April 14 attack. Israel launched precision strikes on Iran’s Isfahan region, Iraq and Syria. The resultant casualty in the strike is unknown. Iran downplayed the strike and Israel did not acknowledge it. There was no civilian casualty in the strike in Iran. There is no confirmed publication about casualties from Iraq & Syria. The strike was meant to give a message to Iran that Israel can strike deep inside Iranian territory.
The sovereign attacks on military infrastructure by both Israel & Iran on each other stopped after international mediation and sense prevailed above all. The situation in the Middle East is on the boil and hence other big countries needed to talk sense to the engaging parties as in any case, it would lead to unnecessary bloodshed and mayhem.
Israel-Iran War: What happened on May 19, 2024?
On 19 May 2024, Mossad started trending on Twitter (X.com) because a chopper carrying the president of Iran Ebrahim Raisi & the Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian went missing near Azerbaijan. All the 9 passengers occupying the chopper died in the mishap which most people on Twitter attributed to conspiracy theories of Mossad killing all of them & laser weapons being used to down the chopper etc.
However, Iran did not accuse anyone of Raisi’s crash rather it downplayed the conspiracies and allowed the way for investigation. The cause of the crash can only be assessed after the investigation teams prepare a thorough report of the incident.
Matters related to the Gaza Strip (Rafah area), Lebanon, and Houthis resumed shortly thereafter. Instead of an all-out war between the sovereigns the war between Israel and Iran is curtailed between Israel & Axis of Resistance.