Israel’s policy towards Iran can be characterized as aggressive and preventive, combining military deterrence, covert operations, diplomacy, and regional alliances.
Israel’s recent airstrikes against Iran have raised the stakes in a conflict that threatens to boil over into a wider regional war. By conducting airstrikes deep within Iranian territory, the Israelis were able to target Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure. However, while the airstrikes were bold, they were, in many respects, consistent with Israel’s grand strategy towards Iran, which is shaped by national security concerns relating to Iran’s nuclear program, its support for anti-Israel groups, and its regional influence.
What Is Israel’s Policy Towards Iran?
Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran an existential threat; such fears are justified given Iran’s repeated assertions that Israel should not exist. Israel has long been an active opponent of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), arguing that the Obama-era deal did not go far enough to dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Israel has actively worked to undermine Iran’s nuclear program through cyberattacks, assassinations, and sabotage operations.
Israeli leaders have continuously asserted that Israel will take unilateral military action if needed to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, making last week’s attacks consistent with those assertions. Moreover, Israel regularly conducted long-range strike simulations, including scenarios targeting Iranian nuclear sites. Israel has also prepared for a potential retaliation from Iran and its proxies by developing missile defense systems, like the Arrow and David’s Sling air defense systems.
Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency has been implicated in sophisticated cyberattacks and intelligence operations within Iran. In 2018, Israel publicly revealed a trove of documents it claimed Mossad stole from Tehran detailing Iran’s nuclear weapons plans. The motivation behind the release was to sway international opinion against Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel has also made efforts to counter Iran’s substantial influence in the Middle East by designating Iranian proxies in the region, i.e., Hezbollah (Lebanon), Hamas, and Islamic Jihad (Gaza) as terrorist organizations.
Israel regularly conducts airstrikes in Syria to prevent Iranian entrenchment and arms transfers to Hezbollah. Israel has also established a “Red Line Policy,” stating that Iranian forces will not be allowed to establish permanent military bases near its border.
Recent trends in the relationship include increased tensions, political polarization within Israel—with debate over how far to go militarily—and a slate of unacknowledged strikes, consistent with Israel’s policy of ambiguity.
Israel’s Iran Policy Is Aggressive Yet Preventive
Israel’s policy towards Iran can be concisely characterized as aggressive and preventive, combining military deterrence, covert operations, diplomacy, and regional alliances. The overarching goal of Israel’s strategy is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and to limit its influence near Israel’s borders.
Israel’s policies towards Iran are hardly unique at a strategic level. Most nations build their foreign policy strategy around a handful of core universal tenets, regime preservation and territorial integrity chief amongst them. While Israel’s aggressiveness towards Iran is possibly distinct in terms of international postures of one state against another state, and worth debating in terms of effectiveness, the motivating principles behind Israel’s strategy are commonly held from state to state.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
Image: Shutterstock / patera.
