Top sources have revealed to The Jerusalem Post that the IDF’s strike on Iran’s S-300 antiaircraft missile system on April 19 has significantly deterred the Islamic Republic and Hezbollah from retaliating against Israel in the wake of the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.

The strike, which was in response to Tehran’s launch of over 300 aerial threats against Israel on April 13-14, has had a profound impact on Iran’s willingness to engage in further military action, the sources said, noting that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, views the strike on the S-300 as a significant loss and can’t figure out how Israel achieved it. The proximity of the system to Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility and a key military airport has also made Khamenei aware of Israel’s capabilities and its ability to destroy the military site if it wanted to.

So far, Iran has not responded at all militarily to the assassination of Haniyeh, which occurred in Tehran as he visited the country to attend the swearing-in of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Hezbollah, on the other hand, has chosen a more limited option to retaliate against Israel, launching several hundred rockets at IDF bases rather than unleashing a full-scale war. Sources attributed this change in plan to fears of Israel’s military capabilities, as demonstrated in April.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)