By Athena Papakosta

Over the phone, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, gave the order and nearly 200 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel late Tuesday afternoon. Among them, according to the Revolutionary Guards, and Fatah hypersonic missiles.

The Israeli Armed Forces announced that most of the rockets were “intercepted by Israel and the US-led defense coalition”, while noting that there were “a small number of hits” in central and southern Israel.

36 hours later Tehran insists it does not want war. However, he makes it clear that if Israel responds, then he will not stand idly by.

Iran showed restraint when on July 31, the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniya, was killed in the heart of Tehran. However, as noted by the British BBC network, his attitude became a source of humiliation.

Israel has in just a few days managed a series of deadly and well-coordinated strikes against Iran’s promoted arm, the Shiite group Hezbollah – even going so far as to kill the group’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, last Friday in the southern suburbs. of Beirut in Lebanon.

Iran’s decision to launch a new missile storm against Israel reflects a growing concern in Tehran that if the country remained silent even after Nasrallah was killed, it would appear weak and vulnerable both internally and in the eyes of its allies, namely to the members of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” to which Hezbollah and Hamas belong.

The Iranian leadership has for months accused Israel of trying to drag Tehran into a war in which the United States will inevitably be drawn.

The newly elected president of Iran, Massoud Pezeskian, speaking yesterday, Wednesday, from Qataremphasized that “Americans and Europeans told us that if we do not act, in a week there will be peace in Gaza. We waited, but (the Israelis) escalated their killings.”

For his part, the head of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, declared that the era of “patience and self-restraint” has now passed, clarifying that in the event of an Israeli counterattack, Tehran’s response will be stronger.

But the Prime Minister of Israel in his first reaction pointed out that “Iran made a huge mistake and will pay for it».

At the same time, the United States is stepping up its rhetoric and the country’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, also warns of serious consequences and states that Washington “will work with Israel to do this.”

Israeli media citing Israeli officials say that Israel is preparing “within the next few days”. for retaliation against Iran The target, they say, will be “strategic targets” including Iranian oil facilities.

Regarding the possibility of an attack on Iran’s nuclear weapons, Washington has put the brakes on with the president of the United States himself, Joe Biden, declaring that “the Israeli response should be commensurate with Iran’s attack, not against nuclear facilities”.

Tehran has already warned the United States not to intervene, and now that it has avenged the killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guards deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan, it awaits Israel’s response.