Key Points
- Iran’s president had warned of a “more devastating” retaliation
- Islamic republic would not halt its nuclear programme under any circumstances: Pezeshkian
ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said American warplanes have bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing war between Iran and Israel.
Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched its aerial campaign on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian had warned earlier Saturday of a “more devastating” retaliation should Israel’s nine-day bombing campaign continue, saying the Islamic republic would not halt its nuclear program “under any circumstances.”
But how exactly could Iran respond to the US attacks?
Three possible scenarios
Iran could potentially pursue three scenarios following the US attacks, Abas Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Middle East Strategic Studies in Tehran, told Al Jazeera.
“Limited reaction”
“One could be the limited reaction, depending on the size of the damage,” Aslani said.
“But let’s not forget that in addition to the attack on the nuclear facilities, this is the US’s direct entry into the war with Iran. Iran had earlier warned that they will respond to this action,” he said.
“Full-scale war”
“The second scenario could be a full-scale war, with Iran trying to engage in serious attacks against US interests as well as the Israeli ones. This could include a wide scope of targets, including Israeli nuclear sites, and allies of Iran could join this.”
Hybrid of the two
He added that the third option could be a hybrid of the two, pointing to Iran’s “levers like in the Strait of Hormuz, which it could close to block the balance of energy in the region”.
