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Middle East conflict

Iran, Israel not interested in major conflict in Middle East — Iranian expert

As Mahmoud Shoori noted, the parties still observe the "tit for tat" rule: if the Jewish state attacks Iran, the latter cannot but respond

MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. Iran and Israel do not consider it expedient to engage in a full-scale regional conflict and up the ante in confronting each other, Professor Mahmoud Shoori, a member of the board of directors of the Tehran-based Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies (IRAS), has told TASS.

"Both Iran and Israel have shown that they are trying to avoid a full-scale war," he noted. According to the political scientist, "the parties are not interested in raising the degree of escalation," but at the same time they observe the "tit for tat" rule: if the Jewish state attacks Iran, the latter cannot but respond.

The analyst emphasized that Iran had many ways of retaliating against Israel. One of the possible options, he explained, would be a joint strike by Iran and its regional allies from Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, which Tehran refers to as the "Axis of Resistance." It includes the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, the Palestinian Hamas movement, the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, and the Yemeni rebel Houthi movement Ansar Allah. At the same time, the Iranian authorities are also using diplomatic methods to defuse the conflict, the expert noted.

According to Shoori, "the use of military means is only one of the many tools Iran and Israel resort to." Tehran has made a certain pause before retaliating. Its strategy on the Israeli track is consistent, he stated.

The analyst called Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which up to 30% of the world's supplies of liquefied natural gas and up to 20% of global exports of oil and oil products are transited, "the last resort Tehran may opt for in confronting Israel."

Such a development is possible if the US is involved in a direct military clash between Israel and Iran. Should this happen, "the region will plunge into a more serious crisis."

Another round of escalation in the Middle East followed the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement, in Tehran on July 31 and the elimination in Beirut of Fouad Shokr, one of the commanders of the military wing of the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah, on July 30. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah blamed Israel and vowed they would not leave the attacks without retaliation.

Military operation in Ukraine

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Russian forces wipe out several dozen Ukrainian militants near Slavyansk in DPR

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Russia’s Ocean-2024 naval drills of no threat to US, NATO — Pentagon

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Russian military has plan for pushing Ukrainian troops out of Kursk Region — Kremlin

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Ukrainian drone killed some Ukrainian troops in Kursk Region, captured soldier says

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Withdrawals from inventories will push Brent price above $80/b — US Department of Energy

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West only prepared to give money to Belarusian opposition for armed fighting — Lukashenko

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