Israel-Iran LIVE updates: Protesters waving Iranian and Palestinian flags flood Tehran chanting ‘death to Israel and Zionists’ as anger builds over retaliation strike overnight [Video]

Dr Andreas Krieg, an expert on Middle Eastern security and Senior Lecturer at King’s College London’s School of Security Studies, told MailOnline that such a limited strike could be seen as an effort by Tel Aviv to climb down from a major kinetic conflict.

‘If this is the extent of Israel’s retaliation it could be described as a deescalatory strike. The use of small drones such as quadcopters provides a degree of plausible deniability that could help Iran downplay the effect of the attack,’ he said.

‘We could say that this attack makes a return to the shadow war that has been ongoing for years if that is the extent of it.

He added: ‘The Iranians would have to respond to a strike that is not deniable or involved Israeli jets over Iran – but this attack does not cross the threshold. Neither side wants an all-out war.’

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