In response, Iran launched its own attacks, including a hacker attack that crippled Israeli computer systems.
Allies of Iran and Israel
Israel’s F-15 fighter jet took off to respond to Iran’s UAV and missile attack on April 14 (Photo: Reuters).
Iran’s most important allies are Shiite forces in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Hezbollah in Lebanon is positioned to play the most important role. Hezbollah has repeatedly come into conflict with Israel and has regularly fired rockets, mortars and rockets into northern Israel since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023.
According to Israeli intelligence, Hezbollah’s arsenal contains more than 70,000 guided and unguided missiles, including long-range and precision-guided missiles. Hezbollah’s stepped-up attacks on Israel could test Tel Aviv’s defenses, at a time when the country is simultaneously confronting both Iran and Hamas.
Iran’s closest country in the Middle East is Syria. However, according to experts, President Bashar al-Assad’s government is unlikely to support Iran because Syria itself is still trying to gain control of the entire country after civil war broke out in 2011.
Iran has good relations with Russia and China, although the prolonged war in Ukraine may limit Moscow’s ability to help Tehran.
Meanwhile, Israel has the US as its closest ally. Washington is currently promoting the shipment of ammunition to Israel to help the country fight Hamas in Gaza. According to a naval official, among US forces in the Middle East region, there are two naval destroyers that moved to the eastern Mediterranean in early April: the USS Carney and USS Arleigh Burke, and also Both have anti-aircraft capabilities.
When the war between Israel and Hamas first began, the Pentagon sent the newest aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford and its combat group to the eastern Mediterranean but has now returned. In addition, 2,000 US marines are placed on high alert for possible mobilization.
How might Arab countries respond?
An Israel-Iran war would put many countries in the region in a difficult situation with the risk of gunpowder exploding throughout the Middle East.
Four Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan signed peace agreements with Israel in 2020 through the Abraham Accords. Mistrust of Iran is part of what binds them together. But it is difficult for any Arab country to side with Israel in a confrontation with a fellow Muslim country, let alone a powerful country like Iran.
In 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic relations after 7 years of freezing. Saudi Arabia is likely to normalize relations with Israel as part of a broader deal, which hopes to gain US security guarantees and may try to avoid being drawn into it. Iran-Israel conflict.