Sunday 14 April , 2024 {HMC} David Des Roches, an Associate Professor at the National Defense University in Washington DC, told Al Jazeera that he was surprised that Iran used a direct attack on Israeli territory.
“It seems that Iranian leaders are determined to take action, but also seen to take action. What that indicates to me is that there are considerations of pride and prestige that are divorced from strategy and tactical utility that may indicate a more dangerous era than we thought,” said Des Roches who is also a former US army officer and official.
He added that Iran may not have “really counted” the possibility its attack on Israel could “take the focus” off Gaza, saying that “the pressure that had been building on Israel to restrain from further actions in Gaza, that may have been lifted as a result of this attack”.
Israel could potentially gain leverage with the US by offering to avoid “an expanded regional conflict” in return for achieving its “strategic goals in Gaza”.
