We were just talking with Jason Brodsky of the Middle East Institute about Israeli attacks on Iran.

He told us that Israel’s action “targeted military sites” and that the goal was to “reestablish deterrence and deter the Iranian regime’s decision-making from launching a direct attack against Israel, as we saw in 1.” October”.

He also said that Israel would want Iran to “pay a price” so that its leaders would conclude that the costs of attacking Israel now outweigh the benefits.

Asked what will happen next, Mr. Brodsky said Israel expects Iran to potentially strike back, which is why the United States has moved advanced air defense systems to Israel in the past few weeks.

The United States appears to be distancing itself from the strike, he said, saying it was not advancing U.S. national interests when Tehran was “trying to kill Americans on U.S. soil.”

He added that the United States would support Israel politically and, for example, through intelligence sharing.

However, he was highly critical of the US attitude towards Iran more broadly, saying: “Israel has accomplished more in holding the Islamic Republic of Iran accountable for its aggression and terrorism in the last two months than the US has in the last 30 years.”

“And I think that should say something about how long overdue it is to hold Tehran accountable for setting fire to the area on its own soil.”