The Middle East faces heightened tensions as Iran reportedly launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Israel on Saturday, marking the first direct attack by Iran on Israel in their longstanding feud. There were no fatalities from Saturday’s incident.
The Iranian action is said to be in response to Israel’s bombing of their consulate in Syria two weeks ago and the killing of several Revolutionary Guard commanders. On April 1, 2024, an Israeli airstrike destroyed the Iranian consulate annexe building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, resulting in the deaths of 16 people, including a senior Quds Force commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and seven other IRGC officers. Two civilians were also killed in the attack, escalating tensions in the region.
By the way, Diplomatic premises, including buildings such as consulates and embassies, are classified as “civilian objects” under international law. These premises are not considered legitimate targets unless they are being used for military purposes. Additionally, diplomatic buildings are afforded additional protections from attack or interference by the host country under international customary law, as outlined in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Convention on Consular Relations. What Israel did was arguably illegal, as is shown by the fact that the United States, its most crucial ally, was not notified of the attack until it was underway. US President Joe Biden has since said that the USA would not participate in any counter-strike.
The Israeli war cabinet is set to meet to decide on a way forward following Saturday’s attack. Their allies, though, have called for calm and urged Israel not to retaliate.
Iran has subsequently warned Israel against retaliation, saying that they (Israel) would face a much bigger response. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said, “if the Zionist regime [Israel] or its supporters demonstrate reckless behaviour, they will receive a decisive and much stronger response”.
