(NewsNation) — “On Balance” host Leland Vittert said Israel’s strike on Iran could provoke different responses from the nation depending on why Israel launched the attack.

“We have to know what the Israelis hit,” Vittert, a former Middle East correspondent, said. “The question is: Was this Israel letting the Iranians know that they can do it, or was this the Israelis actually trying to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities?”

Vittert added the Israelis care more about bringing the remaining hostages home from the war with Hamas, and that if the country’s jets actually went into Iranian airspace, then it means there was a much larger operation underway because that means they needed search and rescue available. He said targeting the nuclear sites is a step above targeted assassinations.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the preemptive strike against Iran that targeted the nation’s nuclear infrastructure and said a missile and UAV attack is expected imminently on Israel in retaliation.

A U.S. official told NewsNation there was no involvement or assistance from the United States in the Israeli strike.