Arshia Farahani

Middle East Tensions: Escalation Looming as Diplomatic Efforts Intensify

Anticipated Response by Iran and Hezbollah Worst-case scenarios of fierce retaliatory strikes by Hezbollah and Iran have already been taken into consideration by Israel. A document prepared by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, to be distributed among diplomats worldwide, flags the right of self-defense by the nation and puts the blame for instability in the region squarely on Iran. Formulated through top-level meetings with Foreign Minister Israel Katz and other high-level officials, this paper makes one thing very clear: Israel will not take any aggression lying down and will defend itself “at any cost.”.