Israel’s Iran Strike Threads a Tight Strategic Needle

Israel’s October 26 military operation against Iranian advanced air defenses and missile and drone production sites seeks to rebuild deterrence by inhibiting the Revolutionary Guard’s capacity to generate further projectile strikes on Israel, and by enabling future operations to threaten core regime assets even more directly. At the same time, the strikes sought to minimize the near-term risks of an escalatory spiral that could divert Israel’s focus from degrading Iran’s proxies and jeopardize continued U.S. support. To prevent further Iran-led aggression, the United States must signal clearly that any escalation will be met with a far costlier, more unified U.S.-Israeli response that goes well beyond simply defending against yet more attacks.    

Click here to read the NatSec Brief.