Former Israeli ambassador assesses prospects of major war in Middle East
Photo: Israel fears escalation in the Middle East (Getty Images)
The exchange of strikes between Iran and Israel could turn into a full-scale war involving many countries in the region, according to former Israeli Ambassador to Russia Arkady Mil-Man.
"All of this could escalate into a large regional war, if not bigger than that. And, by the way, Russia is very interested in this. These strikes by Iran on Israel were beneficial for them now because everyone forgot there was a war in Ukraine. Forgot again," he says.
According to him, one should not underestimate Iran's strength and capabilities. "The fact that they couldn't cause us much harm is our merit. But that doesn't mean their sky is full of holes, that doesn't mean they can't launch another thousand rockets at us," he says.
He notes that Iran is a country with a huge weapons potential. "They produce medium-range missiles and ballistic missiles. These are not Russian-made, not North Korean, these are their missiles, their drones," Mil-Man adds.
Arkady Mil-Man served as Ambassador to Moscow in 2003-2006, and previously headed Israel's diplomatic missions to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Mil-Man currently directs the Russia Studies Program at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies.
Iran's attack on Israel
On the night of April 14, Iran attempted to attack Israel with 300 drones and missiles. Israel said that almost all air targets were shot down, and the damage from the attack was insignificant.
At least half of the ballistic missiles launched by Iran at Israel malfunctioned. They either did not take off during the launches or fell after takeoff.
According to journalists, the United States expects Israel to choose one of the least aggressive options, which may include strikes outside Iranian territory.
