Latest Middle East: Two Iranian soldiers ‘killed in Israeli attack’; Starmer warns Tehran not to respond | World news

An Iranian response to Israel’s attack is unlikely to involve further missiles aimed at Israeli territory. Instead, it could come into the region through Iranian proxies, one analyst said.

Robert Clark, a fellow at the Yorktown Institute and director of the defense and security unit at Civitas, told Sky News “there are still ways in which Iran can respond that are below the threshold of conflict or escalation.”

“I think there will almost certainly be an Iranian response, but more often we can see this in the broad use of proxies,” he said.

Iran has built a network of allies across the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Mr Clark said it was “unlikely that Tehran would send more ballistic and cruise missiles to Tel Aviv or directly to Jerusalem”.

“That’s by no means certain. But I think the extent of the damage that we can see… gives the Iranian regime the opportunity to provide a much more limited response.”