By Athena Papakosta

Tehran has warned that will strike again with more force, if Israel or the United States respond to the unprecedented attack launched by Iran on Saturday night.

We are in uncharted waters. Two 24 hours ago, a new Middle East has dawned where everything hangs by a thread.

Iran crossed the last red line and for the first time retaliated, launching a direct attack with at least 300 drones and missiles against Israeli territory.

The silent war between two traditionally sworn enemies came to an end when Tehran followed through on its threats and proceeded with its vowed retaliation against him. Cause, the blow that took place on April 1 in the capital of Syria, Damascus, and because of which two high-ranking commanders of the Revolutionary Guards were killed.

From the first moment, Iran blamed Israel, perceiving the blow as an attack on its own soil. Israel did not comment on the strike, and the international community began a countdown to when, how and if Tehran would finally follow through on its promises. It took 13 days for the answer to these related questions to be found.

Within two hours the first sirens in Jerusalem were now a fact until the barrage of explosions from the Iron Dome interceptors began to cover everything. With the assistance of the Americans, the British, the French and Israel’s neighbor, Jordan, the Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) managed to intercept the incoming threats.

From the first hours of the attack, the Iranian side hinted that these are Tehran’s retaliations, while it clarified that in the event of an Israeli attack against Iranian territory, its response will be more severe than that of Saturday.

The entire international community is holding its breath. United States President Joe Biden is postponing his trip to Delaware and is slowly returning to the White House to confer with National Security Council officials.

From the operations room of the White House, the American president is watching minute by minute the Iranian attack against Israel. Late in the morning on Sunday, he communicates by phone with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Washington’s position is clear. On the one hand the message of support for the defense of Israel and on the other the warning that the Biden administration will oppose any attack by Israel against Iran.

The international community is trying to avoid a further catastrophic, as it characterizes, escalation.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s post on the X platform, formerly Twitter, captures in just five words that the next day for Israel is different.
“We intercepted, we repelled, together we will win”, emphasized Benjamin Netanyahu and prepared for the War Cabinet meeting scheduled for noon, where Israel was supposed to weigh its options.

Hours of meeting were needed, but no decision was reached, while the Israeli media reported that a new meeting could not be ruled out, without specifying a date.

Tel Aviv has warned that “the showdown with Iran is not over” and diplomacy is back in the running with the Group of 7 most developed nations deciding to move in a common line by condemning Tehran’s attack and reiterating full support for its security Israel.

A few hours later, the UN Security Council meeting will begin at Israel’s request, while Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, is talking by phone with his counterparts. Some of them condemn the attack launched by Tehran, while others call for restraint.

However, in less than 24 hours the – for two weeks – more persistent question than ever “what will Iran finally do?” turned into the question of “what will Israel do in the end?”

Will he listen to his neighbors in the area by choosing the “strategy of patience”? That is, will it avoid attacking Iran directly and choose as targets its proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon? Or, as the British BBC also writes, will reciprocate targeting the missile bases from which Iran’s attack last Saturday was launched?

The British network notes that although this option also constitutes an escalation, since in this case Israel attacks Iran directly for the 1st time, it highlights as an option the third, worst, scenario which is about broadening his possible response.

And the moment when these questions will also receive answers is approaching.