Comment by dredmorbius
4 days ago
If you're launching ballistics in a conflict where a local-theatre adversary has nukes, you might actually want to telegraph just what you're lobbing, when, and where, to avoid a Petrov-gone-wrong scenario.
"We're only hitting Gulf neighbour US-adjacent targets" is less threatening than "we're aiming directly at Israel".
(Though yes, Iran has struck Israel with > 200 missiles in a single attack: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2024_Iranian_strikes_o...>.)
Note that US attacks on Iran have been similarly loudly telegraphed in response. Though I suspect the rationale (if any) differs.
For those unfamiliar with Colonel Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, you can thank him for being able to read this comment today.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alar...>