The new round of Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict and the war in Ukraine both exhibit noticeable anti-Jewish aspects. However, their manifestations are not identical.
Islamic Jihadโs efforts to degrade Israelโs security are driven by Iranian interests. Israeli decision-makers must understand the nature of the struggle with this organization and continue to take steps to prevent its becoming a significant military force in the West Bank. This must be done in order to prevent the โunity of frontsโ Iran is striving to create through its proxy organizations.
When popular protests began in Iran in mid-September 2022, the regime of the Islamic Republic initially tried to portray them as sporadic disturbances by misguided individuals who were supported and encouraged by the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and a few European countries.
The new president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, has selected cleric Esmail Khatib as Minister of Intelligence. Khatib is a radical Islamist with close ties to both Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. During his tenure, we can expect a more aggressive approach by the Ministry of Intelligence, meaning moreย terrorism and violence at the hands of the Islamic regime.
Afghanistan has proved once again that even a superpower cannot win a war against a proxy as long as it refuses to confront the power that supports it. This is of vital importance to Israel, which is facing a proxy war being waged against it by Iran via its regional proxies Hezbollah and Hamas.
The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to overthrow the Taliban regime and al-Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks. Iran opposed the US presence, as it strove (and continues to strive) for regional hegemony. Despite its distaste for the Sunni Taliban, Tehran constantly undermined US efforts to stabilize Afghanistan by collaborating with the extremist group.
Boasting an almost 1,000-kilometer border with Iran and a history of troubled relations between the Iranians and Sunni Muslim militants, including the Taliban, Afghanistan could become a bellwether for the future of the rivalry between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia.
The Iranian regime views Biden as a weak president who can be safely challenged. Greatly encouraged by the American debacle in Afghanistan, Iranโs new hardline president Ebrahim Raisi has declared a new Russian-Chinese-Iranian alliance and promised an aggressive policy toward the US.
Hezbollah and its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, do not have the authority to independently unleash their vast rocket/missile arsenal against Israel. That is because this arsenal is an integral part of the Iranian-Israeli balance of power, and is designed first and foremost to deter Israel from attacking Iranโs nuclear facilities.
By directly speaking to the people of Iran, former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu dispelled the โIsraelphobiaโ the Islamic Republic had instilled in Iranian society. In the process, he undermined the regimeโs most essential ideological instrument to maintain its hold over the nation.