Middle East: Escalation between Israel and Iran: Is there a great war?

After the beginning of the Grand Israeli attack on the nuclear facilities in Iran, the situation in the region is more explosive than ever. According to Israeli information, the Islamic Republic is already back on drones.

The most important questions and answers about the location in Middle East:

How does Israel establish the major attack?

The Israeli President Izchak Herzog founded the major attack in Iran with an existential threat to the Jewish people. The Israeli army spokesman Effie Defrin said that Israel recently identified signs that Iran had “made considerable progress towards nuclear skills”. “The Iranian regime gallops towards an atomic bomb,” he said. Iran had always denied this.

Defrin continued to show intelligence information that Tehran is doing a secret program. As part of this program, Iranian nuclear scientists would have carried out tests to advance it. He spoke of “clear proof that the Iranian regime is striving for in the near future after building an atomic bomb.

At this point, the weakening of the Iranian “axis of resistance” certainly also contributed to the decision for the attack – which has been discussed for more than a decade. After more than 20 months of Gaza War, the Islamist Hamas is significantly decimated, as is the Lebanese Hezbollah. Since the overthrow, Syria has no longer served as a corridor for Iran’s arms deliveries to the Hezbollah. After an Israeli attack last year, Iran’s air defense is also considered damaged.

The resolution of the Governor Council of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna was also noted in Israel. This formally found that Iran did not fulfill its legal obligations to cooperate with the IAEA. This was interpreted in Israel as a “yellow card” for Tehran. Israel’s military chief said with a view to the major attack in Iran that there is “at a point without repentance”. You couldn’t wait anymore.

How effective is Israel’s attack?

According to experts, Iran has worked for years to protect its nuclear facilities against the danger of military attacks, which makes it difficult to destroy complete destruction. “The type of concrete that use (the Iranians) is actually a very special, hardened concrete,” said the military analyst Cedric Leighton at the US television station CNN. It is unclear whether Israeli bombs could penetrate this type of concrete. “The Israelis would have to start one wave of attack after the other,” he said. According to experts, there are also deep underground. The Israeli Air Force does not have B-2 and B-52 bombers that can transport so-called bunker breakers from the US ally, reported the US news page “Axios”. Such heavy bombs would probably be necessary to meet the underground uranium enrichment facility Fordow in Iran. However, Amos Jadlin, former head of the Israeli military secret service, said at CNN: “Never underestimate Israel’s innovative strength and his ability to surprise”.

What is the current state of the Iranian nuclear program?

For years, Iran has been maintaining a nuclear program with two plants for uranium enrichment and a nuclear power plant in the port city of Buschehr. The country also operates a research reactor near the capital Tehran and other facilities in the metropolis Isfahan in the center of the country. In Arak in the west, Iran also runs a heavy water reactor.

The West accuses the state of striving for weapons. Tehran denies this. According to a report by the IAEA, Tehran already has almost 409 kilograms of uranium with a purity degree of 60 percent. A degree of purity of a good 90 percent is required for nuclear weapons. Experts had repeatedly criticized that this was not necessary for civilian purposes.

What will become of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the USA?

Washington and Tehran have been negotiating the Iranian nuclear program for almost two months. Finally, however, the talks stalled – background is considerable differences in opinion. The United States is calling for a complete stop of uranium enrichment, which Tehran sees as a red line.

Actually, a sixth round of talks was planned for Sunday with the Gulf State of Oman. According to observers, a meeting after the latest military escalation is extremely unlikely. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had only declared a deal with acceptable if he would lead to the destruction of all of the nuclear facilities in Iran. US President Donald Trump had spoken out against an attack in Iran as long as the negotiations were still ongoing.

IAEA boss Rafael Grossi also warned Israel this week about an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. These are extremely well protected and it would “require a very, very destructive force to damage them,” Grossi told the Israeli broadcaster i24news. He made it clear that such an attack could backfire. He also told the “Jerusalem Post”: “An attack could have an amalgamation effect, which, I say it very clearly, would consolidate the determination of Iran to strive for a nuclear weapon or out of the nuclear weapon blocking contract.” The top UN atom guard added that he said that because the Iranians had told him that.

Is there a threat of a surface fire in the Middle East?

There is a fear that the management of Iran could order retaliation against US bases in the region. The United States, as Israel’s most important ally, had caused a reduction in Iraq to reduce its embassy staff in Iraq for security reasons. Support points of the US military on the Persian Gulf are not very far from Iran.

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Israel’s actions could not have been carried out without coordination and approval from the United States. Therefore, the US government as the main supporter of Israel is jointly responsible for the consequences. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned in a press release to the leadership in Tehran: “Let me be clear: Iran should not attack US institutions or US staff.”

In his neighboring country Iraq, Iran has a great influence, including allies through allied Shiite militias. The regional power also has rockets that can reach Israel’s territory. Israel is also preparing to ensure that Tehran’s allies in Yemen, the Huthi militia, could strengthen its attacks on Israel. It is also feared that the Lebanese Hezbollah militia could also intervene in the conflict despite a ceasefire that has been in force since November.