A local expert on conflicts in the Middle East says the missile attack on Israel by Iran may be more "show" than real force.
A University of North Texas expert on the Middle East does not think Iran is trying to start a war with Israel. Instead, history professor Robert Smith says Iran may be firing missiles at Israel as a symbolic retaliation for Israel's attacks on leaders of the group Hezbollah.
"Iran is saying to Jordan, 'please make sure you know these are coming and we know that you are going to shoot some of them down, that's just fine with us," Smith says.
In fact, Smith says he's been told by Jordanian officials that Iran gives them a heads-up that missiles will be flying through their airspace. The Iranian government has been under pressure to retaliate against Israel for taking out Hezbollah's leader. So they launched an attack Tuesday.
Smith says damage to Israel is minimal and the Iranian Government can tell its people it did respond without getting into a war, but in a twist, Iran doesn't want a full-scale war.
"It's mostly everybody needing to act in ways so they can please their domestic constituencies," Smith says. "I think that the domestic political angle on these international affairs is something we often forget."
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