The war in the Middle East has continued to escalate over the past two days. There have been reports that Israel and Iran have exchanged strikes targeting nuclear facilities. At the same time, Donald Trump is preparing an operation to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz, with the "Washington Post" predicting that if successful, the American president could end the war, claiming victory. These and other events are in the focus of the Western press today.
Last night, Iran attacked the Israeli city of Dimona, which is located in the Negev desert, 30 km southeast of Beersheba and near the Shimon Peres Nuclear Research Center. Dimona is believed to be the heart of Israel's nuclear program, writes the Guardian.
According to Iranian state media, Dimona was attacked in response to alleged US and Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities in Bushehr and Natanz. Israel denied attacking Natanz, where Iran maintains underground uranium enrichment centrifuges, the British publication adds.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was aware of reports of the attack on Dimona, but that it had not received any information about damage to the nuclear facility. The agency added that no unusual levels of radiation were recorded and that it continues to monitor the situation.
"The enemy has once again learned an unforgettable lesson. No place is safe from Iranian missiles," reads a statement distributed by Iranian state media, "The Guardian" reports.
Few places in Israel are better protected than Israel's main nuclear research center in the city of Dimona, commented the "New York Times". Even battle-hardened Israelis seemed shaken by the sight of the destruction caused by two Iranian ballistic missiles that crashed into residential neighborhoods in Dimona and the nearby city of Arad on Sunday night, overcoming the country's air defenses, the publication reports.
Perhaps no less disturbing than the damage was the army's admission that it had tried to intercept the missiles that destroyed three residential buildings. The failure raised uncomfortable questions about Israel's multi-layered missile system and its capacity to protect citizens, the "New York Times" continues.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site of the attack yesterday and said it was "a miracle" that no one was killed. He gave no explanation for the failed attempts to intercept the Iranian missiles, and said nothing about the air defense system in which Israel and the United States have invested billions of dollars.
The Israeli military says it intercepts 90 percent of Iranian missiles.
"Dimona is protected by multi-layered defense systems — Israeli and American", Ran Kochav, a retired brigadier general and former commander of Israel's air and missile defense forces, told The New York Times. "But nothing is perfect. There was an operational error," he added.
"The Iron Dome" is the most famous element of Israel's missile defense, but it is only a component designed primarily to intercept short-range missiles. "Arrow 3" intercepts ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, and the "David's Sling" is designed to protect against cruise missiles, as well as medium-range missiles and projectiles, the "New York Times" explains. Israel also has the US THAAD air defense system.
Amir Baram, director general of the Israeli Defense Ministry, visited Washington this month to request more interceptor missiles and ammunition, three Israeli officials told the "New York Times". "This is not a bottomless pit", General Kochav said of Israel's stockpile of interceptors. "When we intercept, we have to think about the next day's battle".
V. "The Washington Post" focuses on another aspect of the escalation of the conflict - Trump's threat to "destroy" Iran's energy infrastructure and the ongoing preparations for a battle to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Opening the strait, which is crucial to global energy supplies, is emerging as perhaps the most important military objective of the United States. Security officials already believe that the initial goals, including the overthrow of the theocratic regime in Iran, are unlikely to be achieved, the Washington Post notes. Breaking the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could allow Trump to end the war, claiming victory, the publication predicts.
A contingent of 4,500 US sailors and marines, as well as helicopters, F-35 fighter jets and armored landing vehicles, is currently en route to the Middle East. The Pentagon has also accelerated the deployment of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Force from San Diego, US military officials said last week.
According to experts, the deployment of these forces is part of the US preparation to seize Kharg Island - Iran's main oil export hub - and also take control of the Strait of Hormuz. This would allow the US and Israel to deprive Tehran of oil revenues and provide Trump with a way out of the political situation he is currently in, commented "The Washington Post".
Israeli officials say there is reluctance on the part of the US to send its ships to the strait. Trump has tried to assign this mission to European allies or China, and this emphasizes the danger and complexity of the situation, continues the "Washington Post". "The fact that they are slow to reach Hormuz shows that things are more complicated than expected," a former senior Israeli security official told the American newspaper.
Never before has the world been so close to an energy collapse, wrote the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol in a statement to the Spanish newspaper "Pais". The three-week-long blockade of the strategic waterway poses "the greatest threat to global energy security in history," Birol emphasized.
The IEA, which coordinates the strategic oil reserves of 32 industrialized countries, has begun to gradually release 400 million barrels, making this the largest such intervention in history. But even this unprecedented rescue operation has failed to stop the escalation and oil prices continue to rise.
"During the oil crises… in 1973 and 1979, losses totaled 10 million barrels per day. In the current crisis, oil supply losses have already reached 11 million barrels per day," Birol explained.
With each passing day, the situation is worsening and the chances of recovery are diminishing. Even if the conflict ends and the tide is reopened, it will take months to resume oil and gas fields that have been hit by air strikes, the IEA chief warns.