Iran’s Fantasies About Its Own Strengths and Israel’s Alleged Weaknesses

The Iranians have an impressive capacity to block out reality, about both their own weaknesses and about the Jewish state’s strengths. The latest report on Iran’s rich fantasy life is here.

Iran, in its usual bluster, is claiming Israel is afraid of a conflict with its “axis of resistance,” the term for the Iranian network of proxies and allies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

“It is clear that the Zionist regime is afraid of entering into a military conflict with the resistance on any front, because [Israel] knows that it will face a multifaceted response and that going back to a regional war in Israel will take it back decades and will be a major strategic defeat for the Zionists,” Tasnim News says.

But just this past May that the “Zionist regime” showed it was unafraid to “enter into a military conflict” with the terror group Hamas, intercepting and destroying 3,800 of its rockets, hundreds of its rocket launchers, several of its command-and-control centers. It also killed more than 225 of its fighters, including 25 senior commanders, as well as destroying much of the network of tunnels that Hamas had built under Gaza at a cost of $340 million. This last operation required 160 Israeli planes flying simultaneously (without hitting one another) in the skies just off the coast of Gaza; they accomplished their task of tunnel destruction in 23 minutes. An astounding feat, with no sign that the “Zionist regime” was reluctant to take on Hamas, which was left not standing but prostrate by May 21, when a ceasefire was declared.

“The scenario of the destruction of Israel in the event of a regional war is now very realistic; especially considering the statements of the leaders of the Axis of Resistance about the necessity of uniting all the fronts of this axis against the enemy.”

Iran has sought to increasingly have its proxies work together. Often with remarks from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Tehran indicates that it can coordinate between the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah and Iraqi Shi’ite militias.

But when have even two members of the “Axis of Resistance” jointly launched attacks on, or defended themselves from attacks by Israel? Neither Iran, nor Syria, nor Hezbollah, nor the Houthis, helped Hamas in May. When Israel has attacked Iranian bases in Syria thousands of times, neither Hamas nor the Houthis nor Hezbollah nor Iran itself have responded to the “Zionist regime” in kind.

“The Zionist regime is more concerned about the start of a regional war after the revelation of the regime’s weaknesses on the domestic front and its army, which showed a decrease in the Zionist deterrent power,” the Iran report says, referring to the May conflict between Israel and Hamas. Since then, Israel has drilled for future conflict, and has also recently done joint training with the US.

What “decrease in deterrent power” did Israel (a/k/a the “Zionist regime”) display during the May conflict? The Iranians refer to the “domestic front,” by which they mean the attacks in May by Israeli Arabs on Israeli Jews in the “mixed cities” such as Lod and Ramle, but they fail to mention how those disturbances were quickly suppressed by the IDF and since then there has been no more trouble from Israeli Arabs.

Tehran assesses that Jerusalem is concerned about a multi-front war. “The evidence shows that Israel is not even able to resolve its military operations on one front, let alone clashes on several fronts.” This shows that Iran is planning to try to heat up multiple fronts. Oddly, the Islamic Republic claims that Israel “lost five wars with the Axis of Resistance since the July 2006 war with the Lebanese resistance.” It claims Israel lost the May conflict with Hamas.

Since the 2006 war with Hezbollah – which Israel won decisively – the Iranians claim that Israel “lost five wars with the Axis of Resistance.” Is this true? Israel fought its last war with Hezbollah in that year, dealing the terror group such a blow that it has not dared to initiate a major conflict since, and Hassan Nasrallah, terrified of being killed by Mossad, changes his own hideout every few days, and seldom appears in public. Since 2006, Israel has repeatedly bombed Hezbollah bases in Syria without any retaliation either from the terror group, or from Syria, or from Iran itself.

Israel fought Operation Cast Lead from Dec. 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, a three-week war that ended in a lopsided Israeli victory: 13 Israelis died (four from friendly fire) and between 1,166 and 1,417 Palestinians were killed, with $2 billion in damages to Gazan infrastructure.

Yet Iran has called this a defeat for the “Zionist regime.”

The next war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, Operation Protective Edge , began on July 8. 2014, in response to Hamas rocket attacks, and ended on August 26, 2014. The result was that 2,205 Palestinians, and 71 Israelis, died. There were billions of dollars in damage to Gaza.

Yet Iran has called this a defeat for the “Zionist regime.”

The next Hamas-Israel war, Operation Guardian of the Walls, is the one that took place from May 10 to May 21, 2021. The result was that 260 Palestinians died, including over 200 Hamas fighters, 25 of whom were senior commanders, and 13 Israelis. Hamas expended 4,500 rockets (of which 600 fell inside Gaza). 1,500 buildings in Gaza were destroyed or heavily damaged.

Yet Iran has called this a defeat for the “Zionist regime.”