How IDF might respond

The Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari (inset) has said “provisional plans for both offensive and defensive action” in response to Iran’s attack have been approved.

However, the nature and scale of that response remain unclear, with various options open to Israel.

Air strikes on military and nuclear sites “The most natural response is we destroy many targets in Iran including nuclear facilities with the legitimacy we have now,” said Yaakov Amidror, national security adviser to the

Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “We can use the air force to destroy as much as possible.”

Israeli military sources are confident that the fleet has the capabilities to reach

Tehran through mid-air refuelling. But Iran’s air defences would pose a threat to pilots, which could make a missile attack a safer option.

An attack on nuclear sites would draw a major response from Iran, including through Hezbollah from Lebanon, which has thousands of missiles capable of striking targets across Israel.

Focused attack on launch sites Israel could avoid an escalation through a response focused on Iran’s missile launch sites. Iranian sources report that multiple sites were used but that the ballistic missiles originated from a launch point near the eastern city of Kermanshah, offering a potential target for retaliation.

But such an attack could still prompt a response from Iran, and Israeli military veterans believe it is unlikely to restore deterrence. “If they decide not to do something big, it would be better not to do it at all,” said Mr Amidror.

Attacks outside Iran Israel intensified bombing of south Lebanon in the wake of the Iranian attack and could go further by striking deeper inside the country.. But that would be likely to prompt a retaliation by Hezbollah that would bring Israel under heavy fire, according to Yoni Ben Menachem, an Israeli military analyst, who added: “I think it’s too risky.”

Israel could also escalate a campaign of air strikes against Iran and Hezbollah in Syria. Cyber attacks and covert operations in Iran “I would do a cyber attack as there’s no risk in it,” said Mr Ben Menachem. “It wouldn’t have to be nuclear sites, it could be civilian targets that would create chaos.”