Dr. Joachim Weber talks to "phoenix" about Iran's counterattack on the US base in Qatar Dr. Joachim Weber talks to "phoenix" about Iran's counterattack on the US base in Qatar

According to Dr. Joachim Weber, the Iranian counterattack was to be expected, as the Islamic Republic had no choice but to react to the damage to its nuclear facilities caused by US airstrikes. The Iranian armed forces could have struck harder, for example by closing the Strait of Hormuz or launching simultaneous air strikes on all US bases in the Middle East, explained Dr. Weber. However, by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, Iran would harm the economic interests of its important ally China, whose oil imports largely pass through the strategic strait. Regarding the airstrikes by US forces on Iranian nuclear facilities, Dr. Weber explained that such attacks had been expected by Iran, so that important production components such as enriched uranium had been moved to a new safe location on time. For Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu, the American air strikes were of great importance in weakening the Iranian nuclear program, but from now on he would have to fight the battle against Iran alone again, according to Dr. Weber. The security expert also highlighted that Trump had not communicated the execution of the US airstrikes – also known under the code name “Midnight Hammer” – to his Western allies. This provides additional evidence that the Europeans can no longer fully rely on the USA in terms of security policy. On the further course of the war between Israel and Iran, Dr. Weber expressed his doubts about an immediate end to the conflict. Under Netanyahu, the Israeli armed forces will continue to attack Iran until it no longer poses a nuclear threat to Israel, according to the political scientist.