BEIRUT, April 8. /TASS/. The attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria was aimed at provoking Iran to launch a prompt retaliatory strike on the territory of Israel at a time when the Jewish state is heavily criticized for war crimes in the Gaza Strip, the prominent Arab political scientist, Professor Adnan Hussein, who heads the Department of International Law at the Lebanese University, has told TASS.

"Tehran has figured out the Israeli plot and chose not to rush with just retaliation, thus showing strategic restraint," he noted. "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan was that a probable Iranian attack in response to the killing of seven military advisers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (elite units of the Iranian Armed Forces - TASS) in Damascus on April 1 would prompt the Western countries to show solidarity with Israel and forget about their discontent over its aggressive policy and violations of international humanitarian law."

According to the expert, the upcoming visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to Damascus on April 8 will shed light on what scenario the further development of events in the region might follow.

"The Iranians have postponed but have not given up the intention to deal a retaliatory strike in response to the daring challenge," he emphasized. "It is obvious that the operation will be carried out by the Iranians themselves and not by armed groups of the [Lebanese] Shiite party Hezbollah."

Hussein said he was expecting military tensions to rise in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. He predicted that the exchange of strikes between the parties involved in the conflict would become fiercer in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Nevertheless, he is certain that "an escalation will not lead to a major war in the Middle East."

"It should be borne in mind that the current clash goes far beyond the bounds of the Iran-Israel standoff. Tehran is playing a complicated game with the US and the West around the resumption of the deal on its nuclear program. It remains interested in easing sanctions," Professor Hussein said. "We should also remember that Iran is an important regional ally of China and Russia, which imposes certain obligations on it.".