After Israel-Hezbollah exchange, risk of broader war in Middle East eases out: Top US general

Iran planned an attack on Israel since the latter killed Hamas militant group’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.

A view shows smoke and fire on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, after Israel said it had noted armed group Hezbollah preparing to attack Israel and had carried out pre-emptive strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, as seen from Tyre, southern Lebanon. (Reuters)

In a silver lining for the war torn Middle East, the near term risk of a broader war in the region seems to have been averted after Lebanon based Hezbollah militant group and Israel were involved in an exchange of fire but Iran’s attack risk looms large, said America’s top general.

In an interview with Reuters, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Hezbollah’s attack was one of the two major anticipated attacks on Israel which was planned and now Iran’s trade of fire is awaited.

Iran planned an attack on Israel since the latter killed Hamas militant group’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month who was attending a ceremonial inauguration of Iran’s new President.

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Also Read | What is Hezbollah and what do we know about its military capabilities?

General Brown recently concluded his three day trip to the Middle East and interestingly, he reached Israel just hours after Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets in northern Israel.

While flying out of Israel, Brown indicated a possible retaliation from Iran toward Israel and said, “You had two things you knew were going to happen. One’s already happened. Now it depends on how the second is going to play out,” as quoted by Reuters.

Brown also said that Iran’s military might have prepared its plans for a counter strike against Israel but it is up to Iran’s political leadership to take the final call.

Brown added that “They want to do something that sends a message but they also, I think … don’t want to do something that’s going to create a broader conflict.”

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Israel and Hezbollah had exchanged messages on Monday mentioning that neither side wants to escalate further otherwise it would become a broader Middle East conflict, a report by Reuters claimed.

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