As violence between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Iran is walking a tightrope by supporting Hezbollah without being dragged into a full-blown conflict and playing into its enemy’s hands.
With a focus on easing its isolation and reviving its battered economy, Iran is aware that war could complicate efforts to secure relief from crippling sanctions.
Cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, has intensified, especially after last week’s sabotage on Hezbollah’s communications that killed 39 people.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon followed, killing hundreds. Hezbollah retaliated with rocket barrages.
Despite the surge in hostilities, Iran appears determined to avoid direct military confrontation.
“Iran is not going to be pulled into war,” said Hamid Gholamzadeh, an Iran-based political expert.
Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group said Iran’s strategy was to project power, without directly engaging, especially as escalation could benefit Israel and impact the US election.
“Iran does not want to play into its arch-enemy’s hands,” Vaez said, adding that Iran’s priority was securing sanctions relief and some economic stability.
Even during its first-ever direct attack on Israel in April — retaliation for an airstrike Tehran’s embassy annex in Damascus — most missiles were intercepted by Israel’s defenses or allied forces.
In New York, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Israel of warmongering while positioning the Islamic republic as restrained.
He suggested Iran had held back retaliation after the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, fearing it could derail US efforts for a Gaza ceasefire.
“We tried to not respond. They kept telling us we were within reach of peace, perhaps in a week or so,” he said.
“But we never reached that elusive peace. Every day Israel is committing more atrocities,” he added.
This measured approach echoes Iran’s response earlier this year during heightened tensions with Israel. Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones after the Damascus strike, but most were intercepted.
Analysts say Iran is flexing its muscles amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, without provoking a US response. Iran continues to face Western sanctions, especially since the US, under then-president Donald Trump, withdrew from a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers in 2018.
European nations have also slapped sanctions on Iran, accusing it of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia for the Ukraine war.
Iran denied the accusations, with Pezeshkian saying in New York that Iran was “willing to sit down with the Europeans and the Americans to have a dialogue and negotiations.”
Vaez said any Iranian escalation could strengthen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and even possibly help Trump return to power.
This “would be highly detrimental for Iranian interests,” he said.
Despite its restraint, Iran continues to back Hezbollah.
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would “not remain indifferent” to Israeli attacks.
Iran also urged the UN Security Council to take immediate action, warning of “dangerous consequences” for Israel.
Israel has targeted senior Hezbollah commanders since the Gaza war began.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this week lamented the loss of Hezbollah’s fighters, but said it would not bring the group “to its knees.”
Afifeh Abedi, a political researcher, said Iran was evaluating its support for Hezbollah, but noted the group’s “significant human resources.”
Gholamzadeh added that Hezbollah’s resources ensure it would not be easily defeated.
“Hezbollah needs to be supported, but this support does not mean that they might be defeated if there is no support,” he said.
Vaez said last week’s attack on Hezbollah’s communications might have weakened the group, but it would not be completely “paralyzed even if the first two tiers of its leadership were ... eliminated.”
This vulnerability could be one of the reasons for Iran and Hezbollah’s “reluctance to enter a full-fledged war,” he said.
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS