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Escalation of conflict in Middle East to divert attention from Ukraine — NATO expert

Janis Sarts also commented on Iran’s massive strike on Israel, insisting that these actions were an attempt by Tehran to "save face"

VILNIUS, April 15. /TASS/. Global interest in Ukraine may wane amid Iran’s recent strikes on Israel, Janis Sarts, director of the Riga-based NATO Strategic Communications Center (Stratcom) said.

"Attention will be more focused on this [Middle Eastern] issue and relatively less - on Ukraine," the Delfi news portal quoted him as saying. According to the expert, so far, it is "hard to tell" whether this will result in reducing Western military aid to the Kiev regime.

Sarts also commented on Iran’s massive strike on Israel, insisting that these actions were an attempt by Tehran to "save face." In his opinion, the Iranian attack came as no surprise.

On the evening of April 13, Iran launched drones and missiles toward Israel in response to what it called "repeated crimes" from Tel Aviv, including the attack on the consular office of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus ascribed to Israel. Tehran’s state-run media outlets said that military facilities in Israel were targeted. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed it intercepted 99% of the nearly 350 projectiles launched at Israel with minor damage caused to Nevatim airbase.

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