Israel recently conveyed a message to Iran, via Western intermediaries, making clear it has no interest in launching further attacks on Iranian soil. But according to a senior Western diplomat, Tehran’s blunt response was that “Israel is lying”—raising fears of miscalculation and a potentially deadly new round of violence.
According to the diplomat—who is well‑versed in Middle East affairs and spoke on condition of anonymity—what worries the West is not a full‑scale war, but a brief, brutal escalation that could occur out of Iranian miscalculation. “We do not see a strong push by Iran right now to restart its nuclear program,” the diplomat said. “What they are doing with urgency is rebuilding the ballistic missile program.”
According to the same official, Iranian proxies—like the Houthi rebels in Yemen—have studied the recent 12‑day war in June and drawn lessons. These groups, he said, are now planning to fire 500 to 1,000 missiles in one go, instead of the smaller salvos seen before.
Meanwhile, the diplomat described the nuclear track as “stalled...
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