Israel has a chance to de-escalate after Iran’s failed attack

Iran’s strike on Israel yesterday is, simultaneously, a moment for alarm and calm. Alarm because, by unleashing more than 300 drones, cruise and ballistic missiles in response to Israel’s attack on its Damascus consulate at the start of the month, Iran is basically saying: we can do this every time Israel or its allies cross a line. Calm because not only did Israel repel the attack, it did so thanks to collaboration from its Western allies and friendly Arab states, with both Saudi Arabia and Jordan opening their skies to US combat aircraft.

Israel has the right to defend itself, and will doubtless respond militarily. But its allies have a right also to urge restraint and de-escalation. This is because what Iran wants is for Israel to ‘die of your rage’. These were the exact words Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used in a speech made four days before the 7 October atrocity. They were unfortunately prophetic. 

In the past six months the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sacrificed huge amounts of diplomatic goodwill through its conduct of the Gaza war.