The deadly attack on Iran’s consular office in Damascus could trigger a spillover of the Gaza war across the region, an escalation Tehran has sought to avoid, analysts say.
Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group called the deadly strike “a significant escalation”.
“By targeting an Iranian diplomatic facility, Israel has crossed a line. Iran’s dilemma is that failure to respond could signal weakness to Israel, but retaliation risks a harsher US or Israeli action,” said Vaez.
Bassam Abu Abdallah, who heads the Damascus Centre for Strategic Research and is close to the Syrian government, said before Monday “there were rules of engagement, but now it’s an all-out war between Israel and the resistance axis”.
“It is now clear that the trend is towards escalation. We could start to see increased attacks against US bases in Syria, Iraq or elsewhere.”
