On the 13th of April 2024, Iran launched over 300 drones and missiles directly at Israel in retaliation for an Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria. This threatens further escalation of conflict in the Middle East and potentially draws Israel close to a conflict on two fronts amidst its ongoing battle with Hamas in Gaza. 

Many experts have speculated that this draws the Middle East closer to all-out war. Lisa Khatib notes ‘Tit-for-tat confrontation between Israel and Iran has sparked concerns about escalation dragging the Middle East into all-out war. Such a scenario remains unlikely because neither Israel nor Iran would benefit from full-on conflict. But while Israel is feeling emboldened, Iran is on the defensive. Iran’s main interest is self-preservation. It wants to protect its nuclear facilities inside Iran, and its assets in the Middle East, mainly the armed groups it supports, the most valuable of which is Hezbollah.’ (Khatib.2024) As Khatib suggests, this back and forth escalation of violence between the two nations threatens all-out war in the Middle East, however, this scenario is unlikely as a war does not serve the interests of either party. 

The potential involvement of the United States and other Western nations is another dimension to the conflict as ‘The United States, Britain, Jordan and France all helped to intercept the massive barrage of drones Iran fired at Israel overnight Saturday, according to officials.’ (The Times of Israel.2024) Should the conflict escalate into war, it is likely the United States would lend strong support for Israel, however the US and other Western leaders have called for restraint. Furthermore, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ‘told a group of American Jewish leaders on Tuesday that further escalation with Iran is not in the interests of either the U.S. or Israel’ (Axios.2024) It remains to be seen whether the conflict will spiral into war with most world leaders seeking to avoid military intervention, imposing further sanctions on Iran is the preferred resolution.