Israel’s strike on terror snake Iran signals long Middle East war

The Middle East faces a protracted war that could reshape the power balance of the region, with experts warning a regional conflict could be sparked if Tehran strikes at US bases in the Persian Gulf.

A firefighter at a Tehran building struck during the Israeli attacks, main; Iranian generals Hossein Salami and Mohammad Bagheri, top right, were killed in the strikes ordered by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. Pictures: AP

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The Middle East faces a protracted war that could reshape the power balance of the region, after Iran launched its first wave of ­attacks in retaliation to Israel’s pre-emptive strike to destroy the head of its military and the heart of Tehran’s nuclear weapons program.

The US rejected Iran’s claim it was involved in the missile strikes that killed nuclear scientists and the military’s highest-ranking ­officials, and some experts ­warned that a regional conflict could be sparked if Tehran struck at US bases in the Persian Gulf as part of its response.

Israel’s strikes came after its spy agency, Mossad, conducted a “years”-long operation within Iran preparing for the attack. This included setting up a drone base near Tehran to shoot down missile launchers aimed at Israel, as well as smuggling weapons systems into the country that took out Iran’s air defences.

Israel’s missile ­defence systems are likely to face their ­biggest test in coming days. The Jewish state was able to neutralise the first wave of more than 100 drones that Iran launched on Friday as Israeli forces ­initiated a fresh wave of attacks on the cities of Tabriz and Shiraz.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a national state of emergency as Iran vowed “severe punishment” while claiming the “Zionist ­regime has brought a bitter and painful fate upon itself”.

Mr Netanyahu approved the deployment of 200 fighter jets in an aerial bombing campaign targeting nuclear sites in Iran, with the strikes aimed at preventing its near neighbour from producing a nuclear weapon.

Israeli missiles severely damaged the Natanz nuclear facility, Iran’s largest uranium enrichment site, while the attacks also decapitated the “head of the snake” of Iran’s military with a ­direct hit on the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, killing its commander-in-chief Hossein Salami and major generals ­Mohammad Bagheri and Gholam Ali Rashid, according to Iranian state media.

Mossad reportedly conducted operations that thwarted Iran’s capacity to launch retaliatory ground-to-ground missiles at Israel.

Mr Netanyahu said Israel was at a “decisive point” in its history, and invoked the lessons of the Holocaust – declaring “‘never again’ is now” and said the airstrikes were necessary to stop the existential threat of Iran’s nuclear weapons.

“We can’t leave these threats for the next generation,” Mr Netanyahu said, “because if we don’t act now, there will not be another generation. If we don’t act now, we simply won’t be here.”

Declaring he believed ­regime change was coming in Tehran, Mr Netanyahu directly appealed to the Iranian people by declaring “we do not hate you”.

“We have a common enemy: a tyrannical regime that tramples you,” he said. “I have no doubt that your day of liberation from this tyranny is closer than ever.

“And when that day comes, Israelis and Iranians will renew the alliance between our two ancient peoples. Together, we will build a future of prosperity, a ­future of peace, a future of hope.”

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency this week passed a resolution finding Iran was not complying with the ­Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran reportedly responded by expanding its capabilities to avoid nuclear-weapon detection.

Despite this, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres expressed concern over Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

US President Donald Trump said Iran still had time to reach an agreement “before there is nothing left”, and hinted that more severe attacks were already planned if Tehran failed to comply.

“I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the world, by far, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – and they know how to use it,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Friday night urged Australians not to travel to Israel, warning there was an “ongoing threat of missile and rocket attacks”.

Anthony Albanese said he was concerned by the military ­escalation in the region, although he declared Australia was “very conscious of the threat of Iran ­becoming a nuclear state”. Speaking in Fiji ahead of ­attending the G7 in Canada, the Prime Minister said the US had “been playing an important role” in pursuing peace between Israel and Iran.

“We want to see a dialogue,” Mr Albanese said. “We of course are very conscious of the threat that Iran becoming a nuclear state would represent to peace and security in the region as well.”

After the Iranian Foreign Ministry accused the US of assisting with Israel’s attack, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on ­Friday (AEST): “We are not ­involved in strikes against Iran.”

“Our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” he said. “Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, accused Israel of having “opened its wicked and bloodstained hand to a crime in our beloved country”.

“By God’s will, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces will not let it go unpunished,” he said several hours after the Israeli strikes on Iran.

“In the enemy’s attacks, a number of commanders and scientists were martyred. Their successors and colleagues will immediately continue their duties, God willing.

“With this crime, the Zionist regime has brought a bitter and painful fate upon itself, and it will certainly face it.”

Israel Defence Forces chief of staff Eyal Zamir said the military was mobilising “tens of thousands” of troops along its borders in anticipation of retaliatory attacks, declaring any strikes against Israel would come at a “heavy price”.

“People of Israel, I can’t promise absolute success,” he said in a televised address. “The Iranian regime will attempt to attack us in response. The ­expected cost will be different from what we are used to. We have been preparing this operation for a long time; unprecedented efforts have been made across all branches and directorates to achieve readiness against the tangible and present threat.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among world leaders to call for “all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently”.

US-based National Defence University professor Gawdat Bahgat said there was a risk the conflict could spread. “One option Iranian military leaders made it clear that they would consider is to attack US military bases in Gulf states,” ­Professor Bahgat said.

“If this ­happens, the whole Middle East, the whole Gulf region, will be in war and (there will be a) great deal of instability.”

Additional reporting: Mohammad Alfares, Sarah Ison