WASHINGTON: Analysts and policymakers in the US capital are still grappling with the aftermath of the Iranian drone attacks on Israel, as the US media on Sunday urged all sides to contain the conflict without further escalation.

The New York Times noted that Iranian leaders were already signaling “their retaliation against Israel was over” and they were “not seeking to start a wider war.”

It also noted the Iranian warning that they “could launch a bigger military operation depending on Israel’s response.”

The Washington Post also highlighted the Iranian commander’s warning but reported that Netanyahu was facing tremendous pressure from its right-wing allies in the government to launch a retaliatory attack on Iran.

CNN and another media outlet, Axios, went a step further and reported that US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday that the United States will not participate in any Israeli counterattack against Iran.

The report claims that Netanyahu told Biden he understood the US position but did not specify if the Israeli Premier agreed not to escalate tensions.

CNN also conducted an interview with former Trump advisor John Bolton, who called Iran’s ability to launch hundreds of drones and missiles into Israel a “massive failure of Israeli and American deterrence.”

As a foreign policy hawk, Bolton also urged Israel to capitalise on the current geopolitical tension to target and dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities, a suggestion not endorsed by any serving US official.

However, his suggestion contradicted the prevailing views in the US media that Israel attacked an Iranian diplomatic post in Syria, Iran retaliated with drones, and the situation should conclude here, without further escalation.

The New York Times also published a statement by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, stating that the goal of Iran’s attack was to make Israel an “unlivable place” and trigger its collapse “from within, economically and socially.”

He added: “What do you think the tourism numbers are today in Israel and in the next couple of weeks? What do we think the business numbers are going to look like?”

Both The Times and The Post, along with a dozen other outlets, noted that Jordan also brought down Iranian projectiles flying over its space unto Israel.

“An unexpected — and for some, unwelcome — actor played a role in Israel’s defense: Jordan, the Arab kingdom next door,” The New York Times noted. Some outlets claimed that Saudi Arabia also intercepted some Iranian projectiles.

The Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, shared its scholars’ views with the media, with a warning that “the Middle East is on the precipice of a regional war no one seems to want.”

Jonathan Panikoff, the director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, says that Israel may attack Iranian targets but “in a manner that will be specific and contained and won’t lead to another significant Iranian response.”

He adds: “What’s clear is that this is the beginning of a new era, one in which Iran is willing to respond directly to Israeli attacks and in doing so risk retaliation against the Iranian homeland.” Daniel E. Moulton, a former US National Security Council staffer, warns that “the inevitable response cycle will include the United States and will likely spread across the region.”

In the piece he wrote for the Atlantic Council, he identifies the lack of transparency as the second biggest unresolved issue, noting that Israeli leaders did not notify the United States of their early April strike on the Iranian diplomatic facility.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2024