The three urgent questions that arise from Iran’s assault on Israel

It is difficult to tell at this stage whether the attack represents a conclusion to hostilities which began with the raid on a consular building in Damascus, or the opening salvos of a wider war, writes Mary Dejevsky

The attack was unprecedented not just in its scale, but in being, for the most part, launched directly from Iran (AFP via Getty)

It will be no exaggeration to say that much of the world held its breath when Israel announced, late on Saturday evening local time, that Iran’s long-expected reprisal raids were under way, with hundreds of drones and missiles headed its way.

The attack was unprecedented not just in its scale, but in being, for the most part, launched directly from Iran. As such, it represented a new and immensely threatening stage, as a potential state-to-state conflict, rather than one conducted through proxies. No one – not Iran, not Israel, not the surrounding states, not the European countries and especially not the United States – was under any illusions about the possible consequences.

Modern reconnaissance and communications capacities meant that the awareness was widely shared, giving time – on the positive side – for those in the likely target zones to seek shelter, but also for many, many more people in the region and beyond to chart, and dread, the approach of war in real time.