Professor Gerald Steinberg, an expert in conflict management and founder of Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, said a potential war between Iran and Israel would be both futile and devastating. ‘They are on the verge of a confrontation similar to the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis between Washington and Moscow. Both countries can do massive damage to the other, but neither can ”win”,’ he said. Wyn Bowen, Professor of International Security at King’s College London’s Department of War Studies, told MailOnline that it is unlikely Iran will seek to directly attack targets on Israeli soil, lest it risk an uncontrollable military response from Israel and its chief ally, the US. But he also cautioned ‘the Iranian leadership is under significant pressure to respond robustly’ to the consulate attack, suggesting that a direct conflict, albeit unlikely, must be considered. With any major military escalation between the two arch-enemies sure to subject citizens of both countries and their neighbours to yet more violence and misery, MailOnline breaks down Iran and Israel’s military capabilities and assesses what a war between them could look like.
