The Israel-Iran shadow war
Hostilities escalating following years of clandestine attacks as hopes fade of return to nuclear deal
Israel has been blamed for an overnight drone strike on an ammunition factory in Iran as the long-running shadow war between the two countries threatens to break out into the open.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “US officials and people familiar with the operation” pointed the finger at Israel, as the Middle Eastern nation’s leaders work with Washington to find “new ways to contain Tehran’s nuclear and military ambitions”. The Israeli military declined to comment about the drone attack, in the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Saturday.
But Teharn’s “arch-foe” has “long said it is willing to strike Iranian targets if diplomacy fails”, Reuters reported.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
How has the shadow war been fought?
Israel “is widely believed to have masterminded a series of operations inside Iran over the past decade to sabotage the country’s nuclear programme”, said the Financial Times. These covert operations “include assassinations of nuclear scientists and attacks on atomic sites, as well as smuggling out documents”.
In 2020, Iran accused Israel of orchestrating the assassination of its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, regarded as the father of Iran’s atomic programme. Fakhrizadeh was shot dead while driving a car on a road outside Tehran, allegedly with a remote-controlled machine gun..
His death made headlines worldwide, but “both sides have been engaged in clandestine actions against each other” for many years, said BBC News’s Suzanna KIanpour. “Israel sees Iran, which calls for its elimination, as its biggest threat; Iran sees Israel as an enemy siding with the United States and a bulwark against its growth as a regional power”.
Could the war break out into the open?
With the nuclear deal between Tehran and the West also “looking increasingly unlikely to be restored”, said Al Jazeera, “further escalation might be a possibility”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
A former Iranian diplomat told Middle East Eye last week that domestic and global events – most notably the brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in Iran and the invasion of Ukraine by its close ally Russia – had further undermined the already fraught negotations with the West.
Ukrainian officials have accused Iran of supplying hundreds of drones to Russia to attack civilian targets. Following Sunday’s drone strike in Isfahan, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tweeted: “Explosive night in Iran. Did warn you.”
The strike is believed to be the first by Israel since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power last month, and came amid talks with Washington on new ways to counter Tehran.
In July, Joe Biden and Israel’s then PM Jair Lapid signed the Jerusalem Declaration, which pledged that both states would use all available means to ensure that Iran would never possess nuclear weapons.
“In plain language,” said Al Jazeera,“this means that the shadow war could become even more intense.”
Israel’s resolution to rein in Tehran may be further strengthened by Netanyah, who sanctioned “a series of bold operations inside Iran” before being ousted in 2021, said Middle Eastern Eye.
Yet even before Netanayhu’s recent return at the head of a hard-line nationalist coalition, the Israeli government had openly signalled a shift in tactics to deal with Iran and its proxies in the region. In June, Lapid’s coalition partner Naftali Bennett announced that Israel had begun implementing the “Octopus Doctrine”, under which Israel would no longer only attack its enemy’s allies, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian group Hamas, but also representatives of the Iranian power apparatus.
“We no longer play with the tentacles, with Iran’s proxies, we’ve created a new equation by going for the head,” Bennett told The Economist.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 16, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - sleepyhead, little people, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The issue of women and conscription
Under the radar Ukraine military adviser hints at widening draft to women, as other countries weigh defence options amid global insecurity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will Iran's attack on Israel backfire?
Today's Big Question The unprecedented targeting of Israel could be a 'godsend' for Netanyahu as the limits of Tehran's military power are exposed
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
Will Iran risk all-out war with Israel?
Today's Big Question Tehran has not wanted to be directly involved in the Middle East conflict so far. But that could be about to change
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Humanitarian islands': how will Israel's plan for Rafah civilians work?
Today's Big Question Designated zones in central Gaza to provide temporary housing, food and water for more than a million displaced Palestinians
By The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine's unconventional approach to reconstruction
Under the radar Digitally savvy nation uses popular app to file compensation claims, access funds and rebuild destroyed homes
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will Ukraine's leadership reset work?
Today's Big Question Zelenskyy hints at ousting of popular military chief, but risks backlash amid dwindling munitions, delayed funding and Russian bombardment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Imran Khan sentenced to 10 years: how powerful is Pakistan's military?
Today's Big Question The country's armed forces ignore country's economic woes, control its institutions and, critics say, engineer election results
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Iran's endgame?
Today's Big Question Tehran seeks to supplant US and Saudi Arabia as dominant power in Middle East while forcing Israel to end Gaza war
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published