Will Israel’s Damascus attack further escalate tensions across the Middle East?

On Monday, suspected Israeli war planes bombed the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital city of Damascus, marking a major escalation in Israel’s war in the Middle East

At least 11 people – including a senior Iranian commander – were killed in the attack which Iran’s foreign minister said was “a breach of all international conventions”. The Iranian ambassador to Syria vowed revenge and said his country would “reciprocate when we want”.

The attack came just hours after a drone, launched by a pro-Iranian militia based in Iraq, landed in an Israeli naval base in the Red Sea resort of Eilat at the southern tip of Israel on Sunday night, damaging a building.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the Biden administration is close to approving a major new weapons sale worth more than $18 billion (€16.7 billion) to Israel. And in Gaza, the Israeli war has now killed close to 33,000 Palestinians, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry.

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Today, on In the News, why is Israel bombing Iranian targets and what does it mean for escalating tensions across the Middle East?

Expert in conflict and post-conflict security Duncan Bullivant joins the podcast to discuss the wider implications of the Damascus bombing and Israel’s plans for further escalating the crisis in the Middle East.

Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan and Suzanne Brennan.