Iran and Israel Trade Direct Strikes
Iran has unleashed a retaliatory wave of missiles and drones on Israeli cities, forcing millions into shelters overnight. Israel responded with intensified strikes on military and infrastructure targets in Tehran, a direct tit-for-tat escalation that pushes the conflict into a dangerous new phase.
For decades, the conflict between Iran and Israel was a "shadow war," fought through regional proxies and covert operations. This indirect confrontation included Israeli strikes on Iranian arms shipments in Syria and assassinations of nuclear scientists, while Iran armed and funded groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. The relationship wasn't always hostile. Until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran under the Shah was a key Israeli ally in a non-Arab "alliance of the periphery." The two nations shared close trade and military ties, with Iran becoming a major oil provider to Israel. The 1979 revolution marked a dramatic shift, with Iran's new clerical leadership branding Israel an "enemy of Islam." Despite this, Israel secretly supplied arms to Iran during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. However, by the early 1990s, the relationship had devolved into open hostility. This recent escalation represents a significant departure from the long-running proxy conflict, moving past previous direct, but more limited, exchanges of fire in 2024 and 2025. The current confrontation marks a move from a strategy of containment to one of direct, high-intensity strikes on primary military and leadership targets.
