Cyber attacks, assassinations and the NUCLEAR option: All the ways Israel can now strike back at Iran - as the world holds its breath...

Iran's motorboat of astir 200 ballistic missiles into the precise bosom of Israel on Tuesday has brought the struggle successful the Middle East to boiling point.

The Israel Defense Forced (IDF) person promised 'consequences'. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Tehran 'will pay'. 

But it's the item of however specified threats play retired that volition find the signifier of both  the portion and the wider satellite for decades to come.

No 1 doubts that full-scale warfare is successful prospect.

After Iran launched drone onslaught connected Tel Aviv in April, Israel confined itself to a azygous ngo successful effect – taking retired an anti-aircraft radar strategy successful the cardinal Iranian metropolis of Isfahan. It was a symbolic 'pin-prick' designed to debar further escalation.

This clip determination is interior unit for a mode much drastic response, including from usually mean voices.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, for example, has demanded large raids heavy into the bosom of Isreal's enemy:

'We indispensable enactment present to destruct Iran's atomic program, its cardinal vigor facilities, and to fatally cripple this violent regime,' helium wrote connected X.

Many judge this is simply a once-in-a-lifetime accidental for Israel to re-shape the Middle East.

With Iran's proxy service connected the Lebanese border, Hezbollah, mostly decapitated – an estimated 90 percent oregon much of panic group's enactment is dormant – Tehran looks vulnerable.

Impotent successful onslaught – failing to onshore its missiles connected Tel Aviv for a 2nd time, acknowledgment to Israel's incomparable 'Iron Dome' aerial defence strategy – Iran is besides anemic successful defense, incapable to antagonistic the technologically precocious Israeli Air Force.

Yet the risks for Israel are precise existent erstwhile it comes to a retaliatory attack. Fearful of the conflagration that could follow, the remainder of the satellite urges restraint.

If Israel were to equine a superior battle connected Iran, past it would astir apt bash truthful alone, and astatine a clip erstwhile it is already tied up warring connected its bluish and confederate borders. Iran would beryllium a 3rd beforehand – a daunting prospect.

It is unclear however Israel's force to the north, Syria, would respond successful that scenario. It doesn't person overmuch of an aerial unit but it does person a fearsome armory of rockets.

Then determination is Moscow, which backs some Iran and Syria. Anything President Putin tin bash to prolong specified a struggle volition rise the worth of Russian lipid exports and further distract from his ain murderous penetration of Ukraine.

The 1 happening beyond uncertainty is that Israel has an bonzer array of resources, subject and human, astatine its disposal.

When it chooses to deed Iran, it could bash truthful successful galore ways.

Air strikes 

Israel has 1 of the strongest aerial forces successful the world, based chiefly connected American F-16 fighters and multi-role F-35s, utilized for surveillance and bombing.

As it showed successful its onslaught connected the Isfahan aerial basal successful April, Israel tin readily penetrate Iranian airspace and without taking losses.

It tin run astatine immense distances, too, arsenic it demonstrated past play erstwhile it deed Houthi targets successful Yemen utilizing a operation of F-35s and seasoned Boeing 707 refueling planes.

Now, Israel's aerial unit has a scope of imaginable targets successful view, including bases utilized by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the sites from which Tuesday's missiles were fired.

Iran's absorption media and bloggers person lent a helping hand, deliberately uploading videos of erstwhile launches truthful that Israeli analysts tin place the locations. Some boneheaded authorities propagandists person unwittingly done the same.

Israel mightiness besides question to destruct Iran's captious infrastructure specified arsenic lipid refineries.

Iran is the 3rd biggest shaper of crude lipid successful the OPEC radical of oil-producing countries and presently exports much than 1.5 million barrels a day, chiefly to China, but besides to India.

If it wants to deed the economical jugular, Israel could people the country's lone export terminal astatine Kharg Island successful the Persian Gulf.

However, determination is immoderate speculation that Iran has already moved to fortify its aerial defenses successful anticipation of specified a strike, with Putin's help. One of Russia's elephantine Ilyushin 76 subject cargo level was precocious spotted connected the tarmac astatine Tehran.

It mightiness conscionable beryllium a coincidence, but Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin landed connected Monday for talks with Iranian President Massed Pezeshkian.

Missiles from onshore oregon sea

It prefers to trust connected the aerial force, but Israel has plentifulness of stand-alone missiles, too.

The arsenal includes some ballistic missiles, which alert precocious and accelerated but predictably, and cruise missiles, which cling to the contours of the crushed beneath but tin maneuver.

These cruise missiles see the Icebreaker, which could beryllium launched from a region of galore hundreds of miles, good beyond the show of Iranian radar.

Israel's land-based Jericho 3 missiles tin scope anyplace successful Iran.

Sea-launched Lora missiles tin beryllium fired from instrumentality ships oregon camouflaged vessels successful the waters southbound of Iran.

Israel besides has 5 German-made Dolphin people submarines equipped with cruise missiles. These could easy beryllium deployed to the south-east of Iran successful the Gulf of Arabia, giving them a astonishment space of attack.

The missiles connected the Dolphins are susceptible of carrying atomic warheads, but those are precise improbable to beryllium deployed but against the menace of a deadly Iranian onslaught and the imaginable of wide casualties.

Boots connected the ground

Although Israel has committed troops some to Gaza and the Lebanese border, it is improbable to deploy them to Iran, a state that, though impoverished, is well-supplied with infantry.

Israel, successful contrast, is simply a tiny state wherever adjacent insignificant casualties are earnestly felt. The caller nonaccomplishment of 8 IDF fighters successful Lebanon was a blow.

After astir a twelvemonth of fighting, Israel's service – mostly comprised of reservists – is said to beryllium exhausted. And the strain connected the system of specified a agelong deployment cannot beryllium ignored.

Cyber attack

Israel is astatine the forefront of physics espionage and warfare – and we tin expect these to beryllium portion of immoderate large counter-operation.

Israel famously utilized machine warfare to sabotage Iran's atomic projects successful 2010, erstwhile it utilized the Stuxnet microorganism to disable Iran's efforts to enrich uranium – portion of its effort to physique a bomb.

Iran's atomic facilities surely stay a cardinal people today. But machine viruses could besides beryllium utilized to disable subject communications systems oregon adjacent Iran's vigor grid.

Attacks connected telecommunications systems are a modular portion of battle-planning these days – and Israel is simply a satellite person successful telephone penetration and spyware.

Commercial Israeli firms specified arsenic NSO, liable for Pegasus spyware, person beardown links to the IDF.

Assassinations

Israel turned Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies into mini-bombs conscionable a fewer weeks ago. It is wholly imaginable thing akin present lurks successful Iran.

Israel's quality bureau has shown it has fewer rivals erstwhile it comes to targeting individuals – including cardinal Iranian personnel. 

Several atomic scientists, held to airs a mortal information to Israel, person already been assassinated.

One hugely symbolic people would beryllium Iran's ultimate leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is said to beryllium successful hiding successful a 'safe space', if specified a spot exists today.

Surprise…

Attacks from unexpected directions are different possibility.

Israel's aerial unit could attack Iran crossed neighboring Arab states, Saudi Arabia oregon the United Arab Emirates, for example.

Shia Iran's aggression and its attempts astatine determination dominance are resented by galore of its Sunni rivals, who mightiness softly cooperate with Israel.

The ex-Soviet republic, Azerbaijan, conscionable to the northbound of Iran, could besides beryllium among Israel's improbable allies.

Azerbaijan supplies astir 40 per cent of Israel's oil. Moreover, the fledgling authorities fears Iran's ambition to 'recover' it arsenic historical Iranian territory. Many judge it has been privately cooperating with Israel already.

It is understood that Israeli and US forces are secretly stationed successful Azerbaijan to support an oculus connected Iran – and possibly to motorboat peculiar operations from there.

The 'nuclear' option

Israel could usage its famed bunker-busting missiles to destruct Iran's underground atomic facilities, wherever scientists are moving with enriched uranium susceptible of being utilized successful rocket warheads.

Even if the facilities are not wholly destroyed, the reverberations of a sustained onslaught could disrupt the delicate instrumentality involved.

We person seen Israel usage bunker-busting bombs successful caller days, erstwhile a bid of cautiously timed and repeated explosions killed Hezbollah person Hassan Nasrallah, adjacent though helium was hiding underground successful Lebanon.

But attacks connected Iran's atomic facilities, galore hidden amid mountainous terrain, are not arsenic straightforward.

Most analysts judge Israel would request American support and its progressive logistical help.

As of past night, that's not forthcoming, with President Biden issuing a wide 'no' erstwhile asked by journalists if helium would backmost Israel successful specified a mission.

While Israel had a close to respond to Iran, helium said, it should beryllium 'proportionate'. 

The remainder of the satellite is praying that 1 broadside oregon the different finds an 'off-ramp', immoderate mode of excusing itself from the escalating conflict.

Yet, neither Ayatollah Khamenei nor Netanyahu tin spend to beryllium the archetypal to 'blink' without facing absorption astatine home. Each wants to beryllium they won't beryllium pushed around.

As by acold the stronger of the two, Israel tin spend to de-escalate first. But that's not an casual happening to accidental successful Tel Aviv, inactive smoldering from Tuesday's immense Iranian barrage.

And backing disconnected archetypal is hardly Netanyahu's style.