"The risk of an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure is particularly high because Iran's Hezbollah defence shield is under threat," Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.
US forces have been in the region to protect Israel, and for Israel, this is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address the major threat they have perceived from Iran over the past few decades, Ali Vaez explained.
"And they probably also know that even if this issue is resolved diplomatically, it will not satisfy Israel. So I think there is a real risk of an attack on nuclear facilities."
Regardless of whether Israel targets Iran's nuclear infrastructure or military facilities, a major Israeli response could still spark a wider war, Mr. Vaez added.
Meanwhile, Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Policy, said the Iranian government may feel that if it does not respond to Israel's recent escalations, Israeli attacks "will only increase and continue".
Iran's missile and drone attacks on Israel in April - two weeks after a deadly Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria - were an initial "warning" and an attempt to "escalate to cool down", Mortazavi told Al Jazeera.
"I think it seems that Iran sent the same message in their latest missile attack on Israel on October 1. They attacked to send another warning," Ms. Mortazavi explained.
She also noted that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian described Iran's attacks in a social media post as "a response to Israeli attacks on their sovereignty." But at the same time, President Pezeshkian reiterated the message that they do not want war.
The United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the Middle East at 10:00 a.m. on October 2 local time (9:00 p.m. Vietnam time) at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA.
In a letter to the Security Council, Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon accused Iran of trying to destroy Israel "with a ring of fire from seven fronts."
Mr. Danon urged the Security Council to condemn Tehran and designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist” organization.
Iran said it launched missile strikes on Israel in retaliation for killings in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as assassinations of Hamas, Hezbollah and IRGC leaders.
