Op-Ed by Farrukh Abadi
Early Sunday morning, Iran and its allies launched a strike of over 300 drones and missiles at military targets in Israel, targeting in particular the Nevatim airbase that had been used for the attack on the Iranian consulate earlier in the month. The historic Operation True Promise marks the first time Iran directly attacked Israel. The operation was the largest single drone attack in history, aimed at overwhelming Israel’s missile defense system, and was celebrated as a military success by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It has established another important precedent in shattering the myth of the invulnerability of Israel, continuing from the fruits of Al-Aqsa Flood that have brought Israel to its knees.
Following the attack, many took to the streets in Iran and across the Middle East to celebrate the attack on Israel. The operation follows the IRGC’s capture of an Israeli container ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
According to the Israeli military, 99% of the missile and drone attacks were intercepted by its Iron Dome, an anti-missile defense network funded by the US. They have reported minor damage to the Nevatim military base and 32 injuries from shrapnel, injuries sustained while seeking shelter, and psychological damage. Western imperialist powers including the US, the UK, and France have parroted these reports and have claimed responsibility for defending Israel, along with their lackeys in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari admitted minor damage to the Nevatim airbase, where a number of Iranian ballistic missiles were able to penetrate the Iron Dome and make contact.
Iranian sources state that their attack caused $100 million in damage to Israel, mainly against its missile defense system. Some sources also claim that two Israeli military bases, including the Nevatim base, were severely damaged. Iran had given wide notice of the attack beforehand and intended on the attack to be mainly a projection of power to show that they will respond to attacks against them. Notably, Iran did not deploy any of its recently-developed hypersonic ballistic missiles.
The attack was a legitimate tit for tat response to Israel’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. According to Chief of Staff of Iranian Armed Forces Sardar Bagheri, the military operation “has concluded,” adding, “if the Zionist regime responds, our next operation will be much bigger.”
According to Israel, their genocidal invasion of Rafah has been delayed to prepare for a counterattack against Iran, buying the militants in Palestine more time to consolidate their forces.
The imperialists and their Israeli lackeys remain divided on how to respond. The Israeli war cabinet met over the following days but it has not been confirmed that they have reached a resolution. While they claim they are committed to a response, they have yet to determine the scope and timing.
Imperialist countries and their puppets have urged Netanyahu to act in a restrained manner in order to protect their interests in the region. Western imperialist powers are stretched thin funding Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, and full-scale war between Israel and Iran would hamper the US’s pivot to East Asia.
Biden stated that he reaffirms his “ironclad support for Israel” but that the US will not be involved in any response. Meanwhile, the US continues to fund Israel’s military equipment.
Former national security adviser John Bolton called the attack a “massive failure of Israeli and American deterrence,”confirming the significance of the new precedent of Iran’s direct attack on Israel. He called for Israel to respond disproportionately and to target Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Bolton, along with Netanyahu, have been pushing for war with Iran for decades.
Israel wants a war with Iran to draw the US directly into the widening wars in the Middle East to rescue it from its disastrous losses against Hamas and Hezbollah. In a last ditch attempt to maintain its miserable existence, the Israeli state is instigating a war between the US and Iran. Israel recognizes its strategic importance to US imperialism and is utilizing this role to bring about its decades-long designs of destroying Iran.
The US has placed itself in a conflicting position of simultaneously saying that it will not take part in Israel’s attack on Iran while funding the attack and actively firing on Iran’s rockets and drones. The US will have to decide between retreating from the Middle East and abandoning Israel or getting involved in a full-scale conflict and postponing its pivot to East Asia, making concessions to Russia and China.
Iran and anti-imperialist forces in the region have promised to increasingly target US assets if they get more involved. Direct US intervention risks mass uprisings throughout the Middle East that will threaten US military bases and puppets cultivated in key places over the last several decades such as Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
The prospects for imperialism and their lackeys are grim, while the forces of resistance have shown themselves to persevere even in the most devastating conditions.
