How Iran Learned to Stop Worrying and Live With War

First responders stand amid rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s Corniche al-Mazraa neighbourhood on April 8. For Tehran, Lebanon is not only an important element of regional balance, but also part of its system of influence, says the writer.

Farhad Ibragimov

Over the past year, the nature of the Iran-Israel conflict has undergone a significant transformation.

What previously appeared as a series of isolated crises is increasingly taking on the characteristics of a sustained confrontation. In this context, Operation True Promise 5, announced by Tehran in June, has become evidence of a new reality which demonstrates that the previous mechanisms of deterrence have become ineffective.The new round of escalation was triggered by Israel’s fierce strikes on Lebanon.

For Tehran, Lebanon is not only an important element of regional balance, but also part of its system of influence.