How Israel Might Retaliate Against Iran at Three Levels of Response.

"The state of Israel will do whatever is necessary to defend itself,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says during a meeting of his Cabinet. Pictured: Netanyahu arrives for a meeting Wednesday with Germany's foreign minister in Jerusalem.

Regarding Israel's response to Iran's missile and drone attack from last weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will decide on its own.

When deciding how to respond to Iran's 300 drone and missile launches, leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France have encouraged Israel to exercise "restraint."

Wednesday during a Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu expressed gratitude to "friends for their support in defence of Israel," adding, "They also have all kinds of suggestions and advice, which I appreciate, but also to clarify, we will make our own decisions." The state of Israel will take all necessary measures to protect its borders.

In reaction to Iran's attack, Israel probably will try to thread a needle: too minor a response may be seen as weakness, while too massive an attack could result in an unwelcome, swift escalation of conflict in the region.

This week, Nicole Robinson, a senior research associate at the Allison Centre for National Security at The Heritage Foundation, joins the "Problematic Women" programme to discuss Israel's choices for dealing with Iran. Heritage's news and commentary source is The Daily Signal.

Robinson suggests that low-risk options could involve targeting members of Iran's armed forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in Iraq and Syria, "or proxies themselves, or facilities or people themselves operating in these areas."

"A spy ship that's stationed near the Red Sea" is another low-risk target, according to her. "The Houthis have been receiving intelligence from it."

The Houthi movement in Yemen is an Islamist political and military group that first appeared in the 1990s. The State Department classified it as a terrorist organisation earlier this year.

"A combination of cyberattacks," potentially on Iran's nuclear facilities or electrical grid, would constitute a "mid-risk" reaction from Israel, according to Robinson. Targeted killings on commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, possibly including those responsible for the current attack, are another possibility, according to her.

Robinson goes on to say that "striking their nuclear facilities" or a "direct strike on Iranian soil" aimed at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters would pose the greatest risk.