Iran is the world’s most aggressive state sponsor of terrorism, and has been seeking to develop nuclear weapons for decades. It is said to be very close to being able to do. That is why Israel and (at times) the U.S. have taken actions, both overt and covert, to undermine the Iranian nuclear program, and have threatened to attack it, as a last resort.
Until recently, Iran had several deterrents against such an attack. One was the presence of the Iranian-backed Shiite terrorist organization, Hezbollah, in Lebanon. Hezbollah built a stockpile of hundreds of thousands of rockets, which it aimed at Israeli cities, and built a network of tunnels, arsenals, and hideouts near the Israeli border, preparing for a future invasion of northern Israel. Israel knew that if it ever attacked Iran, Hezbollah would attack it with great force.
Another deterrent was Syria. The Iranian regime, together with Russia, developed an alliance with dictator Bashar al-Assad. Iran used Syria as a conduit for weapons to Hezbollah, and used the Syrian military as a buffer against Israel. Syrian air defenses, bolstered by Russian radar and surface-to-air missiles, were both an early warning system and a deterrent. Israel attacked weapons convoys, but avoided more ambitious plans, especially given the Russian presence. (Read More)
