When the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, one of Iran’s closest allies, was assassinated by Israel, it was clear that the Islamic regime would openly retaliate. This week it fired more than 100 missiles at Israel.
It is yet another step towards a full-blown regional war in the Middle East. Yet Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, says Iran is more reluctant than it may appear to have a direct confrontation with Israel. Without Israel’s technologically advanced military capabilities, for years the country’s leaders have been relying on proxies and allies to wage a shadow war with Israel.
“They’ve developed this sort of axis of resistance, and it allows them to keep the pressure on Israel without there being a direct conflict,” he tells Helen Pidd. Yet in the last few days, Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, made a speech directly addressing the Iranian public and making it clear he wants to see the end of the regime in Iran. But what are the roots of the enmity? And how will the conflict develop?
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
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