In the streets of Tehran, a small crowd of Iranians celebrate the missile strikes on Israel. But others are worried about the risks of escalation in the Middle East after this major attack by the Islamic Republic against its sworn enemy.
As soon as the shooting was announced on Tuesday evening, state television broadcast scenes of joy across the country, with people waving flags of the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah and portraits of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated by Israel this week. last.
“Death to Israel!” Death to America! », chanted the crowd in the streets.
“We are ready to accept any consequences, whatever they may be, and we have no fear,” Hedyeh Gholizadeh, 29, told AFP when interviewed at a rally in Palestine Square, in the center of Tehran.
She assured that she felt a “sense of pride” after these strikes of some 200 missiles by Iran, cornered and forced to retaliate after a series of hard blows delivered by Israel, according to analysts.
On Wednesday afternoon, a thousand people gathered in Tehran at the call of the authorities, AFP journalists noted.
This operation against Israel, the second in six months, was carried out in response to the death of leaders allied to the Islamic Republic in their “axis of resistance” to Israel, which notably includes Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas.
“Daring move”
Israel has vowed to “make Tehran pay the price” in a US-backed response, threats that have some Iranians fearing open war could break out.
“I am very worried, because if Israel wants to take retaliatory measures, it will lead to an extension of the war,” Mansour Firouzabadi, a 45-year-old nurse living in Tehran, told AFP.
According to analysts, this barrage, which according to Tehran targeted air bases, is a response to the setbacks inflicted by Israel against Iran’s regional allies.
According to Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group, Iran took “a calculated risk in April” during its first attack against Israel, in reaction to an Israeli strike that destroyed its consulate in Syria.
“This much bolder move by the (Iranian) regime reflects the growing challenges it faces, as its closest partners have been weakened on multiple fronts,” he told AFP.
According to Mr. Vaez, “failing to respond could have further eroded Iran’s credibility with its allies, giving the impression that Tehran was passive.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is expected to deliver a rare speech during prayers this Friday, which could set the tone for further Iranian actions after reassuring that Nasrallah’s death was “not insignificant.”
The last time he led Friday prayers was nearly five years ago, when Iran fired ballistic missiles against U.S. air bases in Iraq following the January 2020 U.S. assassination of Qassem Soleimani , commander of the Revolutionary Guards, the regime’s ideological army.
“Far from finished”
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian recently assured that Iran had “tried not to react” with the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, fearing that it would derail American efforts for a cease-fire in Gaza.
However, promises from the United States and its allies of a “ceasefire in exchange for Iran’s non-reaction” […] were completely false,” he said. »
Pezeshkian’s government was under increasing pressure from conservatives to respond directly against Israel, which intensified after Nasrallah’s assassination.
Iran promised an “overwhelming response” if Israel responded to the strikes and warned against any direct military intervention in support of Israel.
If Tehran assures that the “chapter is closed […]this is actually far from being the case,” estimates expert Vaez.
“The final word on this conflict does not belong to Iran, but to Israel and the United States,” he added.
According to the expert, “according to the latest developments in Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen with the Houthi rebels (allies of Iran), this confrontation is far from over.”