This was not an all out attack. The leadership of Iran is insane, and nuclear weapons, no matter how that would end for Iran, are not out of the question when you are dealing with that mindset. Look at this attack and look at October 7 - both are carefully calculated provocations. No meaning other than to provoke a response. Sometimes the best strategy is not to respond.
“Sometimes the best strategy is not to respond.”
I don’t think not responding is politically possible for Netanyahu. He was politically damaged as the Oct 7 attacks occurred on his watch, but I’ll bet the intel mindset that made the failure possible was probably institutionalized long ago. The current leader of any bureaucratic organization is mostly like a new paint job on an old car. The car isn’t new or improved by the new paint.
If Netanyahu fails to respond he’ll be compounding the bad image he has now. It is political poison. Now, he may respond with a cyber-attack. The problem with that is it’s a one-shot weapon as Iran will learn from it and adjust. Just plastering Iran’s proxies probably won’t work either. He’ll probably look at the weapons that were effective at getting through Israel’s defenses and strike at those weapons that are deployed and the manufacturing facilities.
His ability to respond will be hampered by the Biden administration and the fact that Iran is one heck of a long haul away over mostly unfriendly and well-armed countries. Those countries would need to agree to stand down and they likely won’t as they don’t want to be collateral damage from an Iranian response.
Another option is to assassinate someone inside Iran. That’s a whole kettle of other problems down the road.
Or, he could hit Kharg Island with a few missiles. But that might bump world oil prices and he’d be blamed for that suffering.
Problems, problems.