MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. The United States will be persuading Israel not to take radical measures against Iran after the latest retaliatory attack, as Washington does not need a large-scale war in the Middle East, Vladimir Sazhin, a senior research fellow at the Center for Near and Middle East Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has told TASS.

"It seems to me that the Americans are at the moment persuading Israel not to strike very hard. It is clear that Israel cannot but respond to Iran's strike. Very important elections in the United States are due in a month’s time. America does not need involvement in a serious conflict. They will be obliged to help Israel on all issues then. Above all, the Democratic Party does not need that. Therefore, I think, after all, the Americans will be persuading Israel not to take such radical measures against Iran," the analyst believes.

At the same time, according to the expert, the Ukrainian agenda will not fade away for the West even in case of a further surge of tensions in the region.

"I think the issue of Ukraine will not fade away. Either for Europe or for the Americans," he said in response to a related question.

Sazhin also added that neither Iran nor Israel would benefit from a large-scale conflict, as both countries were in a precarious position: Israel needs to finish mopping up its enemies along its borders, while Iran has serious social and economic issues to address.

"In the end, whether there will be large-scale hostilities will depend on how Israel will interpret this Iranian strike. The Israelis may agree that it was a demonstrative gesture: Iran could not help but respond, because if it had not responded to the Israeli actions against Hezbollah, it would have lost face and its image as the main fighter against Zionism and US imperialism in the Middle East would be very much dimmed. But if the Israelis consider that this was a serious attack, and not a demonstration, they will respond with all their might," he continued.

"A retaliatory strike may be launched against Iran's energy facilities, primarily oil refineries and oil terminals. Perhaps Iran's nuclear facilities will also be affected. After that, the Iranian economy will fall to zero. This may entail serious consequences, given the already strained social and economic situation in the country," the expert said.

Sazhin noted that after the strike on Israel, Iran found itself in a dubious position.

"After the strike, Iran has found itself in a difficult situation, so it has few chances to succeed in a large-scale war. Even without a war it will have a hard time. All plans of Iran's president [Masoud Pezeshkian] and, incidentally, the supreme leader [of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] to reduce the pressure of Western sanctions, I think everything will be canceled at least for the near future," the expert concluded.

Middle East situation

On the evening of October 1, Iran carried out a massive missile strike on Israel in response to the assassinations of key figures in the leadership of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Tehran said 90% of the missiles successfully hit the designated targets, while Israel claims Iran had launched about 180 missiles and most of them were intercepted.

Israel's General Staff promised to "choose the time" and surprise with its response to the attack. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned in Hebrew that the strikes on Israel would be even more extensive.