The Israeli military announced the deaths of eight soldiers during combat operations in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. The soldiers were part of an Israeli incursion aimed at dismantling Hezbollah strongholds near the border, marking Israel’s first combat fatalities since its forces crossed into Lebanon earlier this month. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the losses, describing them as part of a larger mission to neutralize Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran.
The skirmish with Hezbollah comes at a moment of heightened regional tensions, following Iran’s recent missile strikes against Israel, which have increased fears of a broader escalation. On Sunday, Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles toward Israeli territory, triggering speculation about how Israel will respond, particularly regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Israel’s military engagement in Lebanon, coupled with Iran’s missile strikes, highlights a significant shift in regional hostilities—from covert operations and proxy wars to direct military confrontation. The scale and boldness of Iran’s missile attacks have sparked calls for a more forceful Israeli retaliation, with some urging a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move that would likely ignite a broader conflict in the Middle East.
Naftali Bennett, Israel’s former prime minister and a vocal critic of Iranian influence, has been particularly outspoken, urging Israel to take decisive military action against Tehran. Bennett has called for nothing less than the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program, advocating for a series of strikes that would not only cripple Iran’s energy infrastructure but also deal a devastating blow to its ruling regime. “We must destroy Iran’s nuclear project, cripple their major energy facilities, and deliver a critical blow to this terrorist regime,” Bennett said in a televised interview.
The potential for such a military escalation has profound implications, not only for Israel and Iran but also for global stability. Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and the persistent fear that Tehran is close to developing nuclear weapons, have long been a source of anxiety for Israel and other nations in the region.
Concerns over Iran’s nuclear capabilities date back to the early 2000s, with international actors, including the U.S. and the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), repeatedly warning that Iran had pursued a secret, coordinated nuclear weapons program. Though that program was reportedly halted in 2003, fears have persisted, especially as Iran advanced its nuclear capabilities after the collapse of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. However, the agreement fell apart in 2018 when then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal, accusing Iran of violating its terms. In the years since, Iran has progressively abandoned the restrictions set by the agreement, significantly advancing its uranium enrichment capabilities. Today, Iran is the only non-nuclear weapons state producing uranium enriched to 60%, far surpassing the limits set by the JCPOA and bringing it dangerously close to weapons-grade material.
Iran now has enough enriched uranium to build approximately three nuclear bombs, a fact that has heightened tensions with Israel, which has long considered a nuclear-armed Iran an existential threat.
The current open hostilities between Israel and Iran stand in stark contrast to the more shadowy, covert operations that characterized earlier phases of their rivalry. In the past, Israel had targeted Iran’s nuclear program through clandestine means, including cyberattacks, sabotage, and assassinations. One particularly striking example of such covert actions came to light earlier this year, when details of a 2020 sabotage operation against an Iranian nuclear facility were revealed.
In March 2024, Iran International, an independent news outlet, reported on a previously undisclosed attack on an ‘industrial production workshop’ belonging to Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI). According to intelligence documents leaked by a hacking group, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad orchestrated the 2020 sabotage, hiring a group of nine Iranian nationals to set fire to the facility in the Shadabad neighborhood of Tehran.
The documents indicated that Mossad had provided these individuals with a blueprint of the facility and promised them financial compensation for carrying out the attack. The group reportedly received 2.7 billion rials (about $10,000 at the time) for their efforts, which involved breaking into the workshop, tying up the security guard, and setting fire to sensitive equipment.
The Shadabad workshop, described as a covert nuclear facility, had not been declared to the IAEA, and its existence was only revealed after the sabotage operation. Although the exact nature of the work conducted at the site remains unclear, analysts speculate that it may have been involved in centrifuge research and development, critical for Iran’s uranium enrichment efforts.
The Shadabad incident soon became a major national security issue in Iran, drawing the personal attention of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who demanded severe punishment for the perpetrators. Iranian authorities arrested the nine suspects and charged them with crimes ranging from acts against national security to collaboration with a foreign power (Israel).
Despite the severity of the charges, many of the accused were reportedly unaware that the facility they targeted was part of Iran’s covert nuclear program. Iran International’s report suggested that some of the suspects had struggled with personal issues, such as addiction, and may have been manipulated into participating in the sabotage operation.
Judicial proceedings following the arrests revealed the complexity of the case. While some of the suspects were acquitted of the most severe charges, including confronting the Islamic government, the primary defendant, Masoud Rahimi, received a 10-year prison sentence for his involvement in the operation. The case underscored the deepening animosity between Israel and Iran, as well as the lengths to which both nations are willing to go in their efforts to sabotage each other’s strategic capabilities.
The Shadabad sabotage was just one of several covert operations targeting Iran’s nuclear program. Five months after the fire, in November 2020, Iran suffered another major blow with the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a prominent nuclear scientist long suspected by Israel and Western intelligence agencies of being the mastermind behind Iran’s weapons program. Fakhrizadeh was gunned down near Tehran in what many believe was an Israeli operation. His death was seen as a significant setback for Iran’s nuclear ambitions and further escalated tensions between the two nations.
The transition from covert operations to open warfare marks a critical turning point in Israeli-Iranian hostilities. The current round of fighting—spanning from Hezbollah’s engagements with Israeli forces in Lebanon to Iran’s ballistic missile attacks—suggests that the conflict may be entering a new and potentially more dangerous phase.
International actors, including the United States, are watching the situation closely. The U.S. has long been a key ally of Israel and has provided significant military support to the country. At the same time, Washington has been involved in diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, although these efforts have had limited success since the collapse of the JCPOA.
The potential for a full-scale Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities raises concerns about the broader geopolitical fallout. Such an attack could lead to a larger regional war, drawing in countries like Syria and Iraq, where Iran maintains a significant military presence. It could also have global implications, particularly if the conflict disrupts energy supplies from the Middle East.
As the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies, the region is bracing for what could be a prolonged period of instability. The Israeli military is preparing for further engagements with Hezbollah, while Iranian officials have vowed to retaliate against any Israeli strikes on their nuclear facilities.
The international community, including the UN and NATO, has called for restraint, but the situation remains precarious. With both sides unwilling to back down and regional alliances increasingly strained, the prospect of a wider war looms large. The coming weeks will likely determine whether this latest round of hostilities leads to a broader confrontation or whether diplomatic efforts can prevail in de-escalating the crisis.
