GENEVA, June 14. /TASS/. Events after Israel's strikes on Iran may start developing according to the worst scenario and the conflict could spread to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and the Persian Gulf countries, Hicheme Lehmici, secretary of GIPRI, a lecturer at the SWISS UMEF University of Applied Sciences Institute, told TASS.
According to him, the Israelis are acting at an accelerated pace in their attacks against Tehran without showing any intention to defuse tensions. "And this is very alarming because it actually signifies a course toward an all-out war between Israel and Iran," Lehmici explained, noting that once it begins, the US will definitely get involved.
"And then the risk of an apocalyptic scenario materializing would be very real. We risk seeing either an Iraq-type scenario for Iran or, if Iran's resistance proves stronger, possibly a regionalization of the conflict, which could affect the entire territory from Israel to Iran, including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and possibly the Gulf countries," the expert believes.
Overnight into June 13, Israel kicked off Operation Rising Lion aimed against Iran’s nuclear program. The Israel Defense Forces said that 200 fighter jets attacked more than 100 targets in Iran, including nuclear facilities.
On the evening of June 13, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that Iran retaliated by attacking dozens of targets in Israel with missiles, including military facilities and air bases, striking, in particular, the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. Israel said some targets were hit but most of the missiles were intercepted.