With Iran’s proxies getting pummeled by Israeli airstrikes and Iranian ballistic missiles failing to make much of a dent against Israel — although several dozen broke through Israeli air defenses during the Oct. 1 attack, causing minimal damage to the Nevatim airbase — Tehran is no doubt feeling vulnerability.
In the span of less than a month, Israel has done significant damage to a key node in Iran’s regional deterrent posture, devastating Hezbollah’s leadership structure and destroying as much as half of the militia’s missile inventory. Thousands of Israeli troops are now in southern Lebanon, combing through villages and small towns, looking for more Hezbollah military infrastructure to destroy. And sooner or later, Iran will experience Israeli military retaliation directly, with Iranian military and intelligence facilities at the top of Israel’s target list.
