5 major questions about Israel’s strikes and a wider war

The widespread air strikes in Israel have effectively harmed the country’s nuclear and ballet missile programs in the country, which officials said was a fundamental goal.

The strikes hit more than 100 targets, including Iranian air defense systems, missile launchers, and the Supreme Military Command.

Now, all eyes are on Tehran’s response and the specter of a wider conflict. There are questions about whether the United States will get a fight.

Here are some of the main questions arising from the attacks.

How did Iran respond?

Iran initially responded to the attack by launching 100 drones on Israel on Friday, which the Israeli Defense Forces mostly said.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khounai, said that Israel “must expect a severe punishment” in response to strikes, and that Iran “will not allow them to pass.”

Hours later, the IDF said that Iran fired “dozens” of missiles in Israel, which appears to be several waves. The army said that its air defenses were actively hiding, and the video footage captured several traces.

“The Iranian response may be postponed or divided into multiple stages,” said Matthew Saville, Director of Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute in the United Kingdom.

He added: “But their main weapon will be ballistic missiles, which have the best opportunity to damage in Israel, while the drone attacks and marine flights will face more large -scale Israeli defenses.”

It is not unprecedented that Iran will launch strong weapons in Israel; Tehran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at its enemy in April and October last year. However, these strikes were often intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States.

In addition to direct strikes, there is another way that Iran can lack through the so -called “Axis of Resistance”, a wide network of militias with which it is in line with the region, including Hezbollah and Yemen in Lebanon.

Israel has been fighting these forces and Hamas attacks in Gaza, since October 7, 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long called for the destruction of the Iranian nuclear program, which is called for Tehran for civil purposes.

However, the United States is trying to reach a new deal with Iran (and threatened violence if a deal is not made). The strikes can hinder these efforts and even Iran in the race to build a nuclear arsenal.

Can this lead to a wider conflict?

Israel’s strikes threaten a broader regional conflict, analysts in Chatham House Research in London Friday.

“Beyond a preventive measure, this strike risk a broader regional escalation and may unintentionally enhance the legitimacy of the local and international Islamic Republic,” said Sanam Facille, director of the Chatham House program in the Middle East and North Africa in Chatham.

Last year, Tehran was said to have threatened to target oil facilities in the Gulf state if they allowed Israel to reach their airspace due to strikes against Iran. It is not clear what methods used by Israeli aircraft used in the attacks, but there were speculations that Israel could take advantage of the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria to obtain its planes directly on Iraq.

Russia is also a close ally of Iran, and the two have increased their defensive cooperation since Russia has launched a large -scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

However, Nikita Smagine, Carnegie Hibat analyst, said in December that it is unlikely that the Kremlin would come to Iran’s direct aid in order to avoid direct confrontations with Israel and the United States.

Will the United States be withdrawn to a fight?

The United States helped armament and defend Israel, especially in the wake of Hamas attacks on October 7. The world will watch to find out how President Donald Trump responds.

Trump sought to mediate a new nuclear deal with Iran, and in the wake of Israeli attacks overnight, warning of “more brutal” strikes from Israel if Iran rejects a new agreement.

Last year, the US Navy helped to shoot down the Iranian missiles that were fired in Israel in two main attacks, and it has rotated several aircraft carriers and many warships in the region since 2023, in an offer to support Israel and deter its enemies, including Iran.

The United States and other NATO countries also defended international shipping routes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden from attacks by Iranian -backed Houthi militants in Yemen.

What forces do the United States possess in the region?

The United States has a large military presence in the Middle East, including the navy, ground forces and additional planes.

A BI spokesman told the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike collection – which consists of aircraft carrier, a ritual, and three destroyers – located in the Arab Sea.

There are also three American destroyers in the Red Sea and the other in the eastern Mediterranean.

All of these warships, and dozens of carrier aircraft are able to carry out air defense tasks to defeat drones and ties.

Was the strikes effective?

Israeli Defense Army spokesman. General Evi Defern said that Israel’s strikes were “severely damaged” the main uranium enrichment site in Iran in Natanz.

“For many years, the people of the Iranian regime have made an effort to obtain nuclear weapons in this facility,” he said, adding that the site “has the infrastructure needed to enrich uranium to a military degree.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that the site has been struck, but the extent of damage is still unacceptable.

Satellite images appear to show significant damage at the surface level.

There was also a report on Friday that Israel had struck Fordo, a nuclear fuel site that was deeply guarded under a mountain.

The Israeli Defense Army said that the head of the Iranian Islamic Guard Guard Hosen Salami and other senior military leaders were killed in targeted strikes.