Iran and the proxy terrorist groups it backs in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza, and other places continued their multi-front war on Israel this week, just as Israel increased its operations in Lebanon. The IDF has also carried out many airstrikes targeting Hezbollah command and control centers, as Hezbollah continued firing hundreds of rockets a day at Israel.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian continued, meanwhile, to slam Israel in statements, one bashing the US and Europe for supporting Israel’s “savage Zionist regime.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Israel against any retaliation following Iran’s ballistic missile attack on October 1.
In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah continued to fight the IDF. Iranian state media highlighted claims that three IDF soldiers were wounded on Wednesday, part of Iran’s attempt to portray Hezbollah as having remained an organized and strong fighting force, despite its losses.
Iranian state media also said Hezbollah targeted Haifa and a gas platform off the coast on Sunday.
The Iranian-backed militias in Iraq also carried out new drone attacks on Israel. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of militias, said it targeted Eilat overnight Wednesday, along with a separate drone attack. Israel has said over the last few days that it intercepted drone threats from the “east,” the wording usually used to refer to drones flying from Iraq.
On the Syrian front, Iranian state media claimed that there were “explosions” in the Mazzeh suburb of Damascus and that Syrian air defense was activated, an incident that was blamed on Israel.
In a separate incident in Syria, Iranian media claimed that a “blast” was heard at a US base in the east. This has been ascribed to attacks by Iranian-backed groups that have targeted American forces over a hundred times over this past year in Iraq and Syria.
Russia's growing involvement in Lebanon
In another potentially significant report, citing others, Israel said that Russia is deepening its involvement in Lebanon, which could benefit Hezbollah. The report quotes a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry who said, “Despite the massive attacks with significant damage to civilians, we estimate that Hezbollah has maintained its ability to function, including the military. The chain of command continues to function.”
The report noted that “it seems that Russia’s quiet involvement in the war in Israel is becoming more and more significant. In addition to the Lebanese report about the transfer of UAVs to Hezbollah, two weeks ago it was reported in the Reuters news agency that Russia is conducting negotiations for the transfer of anti-ship missiles to the Houthi rebels in Yemen through Iranian mediation.”
Empowering Iran's proxies
If Moscow indeed gets more involved in Lebanon or Yemen, it could increase the power of two of Iran’s proxies in the region and also benefit two fronts of the Iranian octopus-like war on Israel. Israel is facing off on Iranian-backed attacks from Gaza, the West Bank, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the Iraqi militias, as well as Iranian-backed militias in Syria, along with direct attacks from Iran.
In addition, recent terror attacks in Tel Aviv, Beersheba, and Hadera point to a possible rising eighth front of the conflict as Iran seeks to mobilize attacks even within Israel by radicalizing Israeli Arab citizens.