Photo of Israeli strike on Israel posted on Twitter
Iran made clear it had no plans to retaliate after the attack Israel downplayed the strikes, struck on Friday.
The muted response to Israel's limited attack is seen as an attempt by Iran to prevent tensions from escalating into a full-blown regional conflict.< /p>
The Israeli strikes came after Western allies, including the United States, called on Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint after Iran carried out its first-ever direct attack on Israel last Saturday.
There were fears that Israel would strike nuclear facilities in Iran, leading to threats that Tehran could weaponize its nuclear program and build a nuclear bomb.
After Iranian air defenses shot down three drones over the city of Isfahan, the regime eloquently blamed “infiltrators” rather than Israel for a small number of explosions.
“The foreign source of the incident has not been confirmed. We have not come under any external attack and the debate leans more towards infiltration than attack,” a senior Iranian official said.
Other officials said they did not know who carried out the attack, stopping short of immediately blaming Israel . .
Another official said the attacks were carried out using off-the-shelf quadcopter drones, further reducing the likelihood of serious retaliation.
One regional intelligence source said they believe attacks between Israel and Iran each other are “over.”
Iran can “absorb” the attack
Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group think tank and a senior adviser to Joe Biden, told The Telegraph that Iran could “absorb” a covert attack “without feeling the need to up the ante.”
“Israel clearly wanted to demonstrate Iran, what it can do without doing it. So this chapter is closed,” he said.
“But that doesn’t mean either side will be able to prevent further escalation in the future, especially if the war in Gaza continues or worsens.”
p>Jonathan Lord, of the New American Security think tank, said Iran's response “appears to indicate that Iran is seeking to get off the ledge, minimize the impact of the attack, and perhaps move down the escalation ladder from here.”
< p >In recent days, Western states have tried to send messages to Iran through Turkey, calling on them to de-escalate.
Iran's attack was unprecedented but resulted in no deaths and only minor damage as Israel and its allies shot down hundreds of missiles and drones.
It was in response to the April 1 air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two generals.
Military analysts have suggested that the intention behind Israel's latest attack was to strike retaliate but avoid further escalation.
British and German foreign ministers visited Jerusalem this week, and Western countries tightened sanctions on Iran to reassure Israel.
But on Netanyahu there was pressure from hardliners in his Likud party and among his coalition allies to order a massive response to Iran
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister of national security, published in the wake of Friday's strikes Twitter's only word: “Lame.”
There has been no word from Israel about whether this actually happened. further actions may be planned. In addition to direct strikes, it could launch cyberattacks or strike Iranian proxies elsewhere.
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