The Israeli attack on Iran surprised many in the Arab world, especially after US President Donald Trump publicly called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain at this stage from a military response on Iranian territory following the barrage of missiles launched at Israel.
Senior security sources say that by launching the missiles at Israel, Iran sought to establish a new equation: any Israeli attack on Beirut or southern Lebanon would be met with a direct hit on Israeli territory. In doing so, Tehran attempted to create a direct operational link between the Lebanese and Iranian arenas, and to deter Israel from continuing its activities against Hezbollah.
In their assessment, Iran attempted to present Israel and the US with a dilemma: to re-escalate the fighting in the region, or to comply with its demands to end the war on a regional level, and especially in the Lebanese arena. However, the decision to launch an attack expresses, in the assessment of those sources, the Israeli desire to disconnect between the arenas and to make it clear that Israel's right to act is not subject to any negotiation.
Commentators in the Arab world believe that this is a coordinated move, designed to sever the connection that Iran seeks to create between the Iranian arena and the Lebanese arena, and at the same time increase the pressure on Tehran to sign an agreement with the US in accordance with Trump's terms.