Iran is often portrayed as one of the world’s most dangerous actors. But with attacks on its defenses, nuclear sites and proxy militias, Israel has exposed a compromised and weakened adversary.

Even as it conducts its own attacks on Israel, Iran is weighing up its military and diplomatic choices.

The Israeli strike on Tehran marks a dangerous escalation in a decades-long shadow war with Iran, fought across borders, proxies, and battlegrounds from land to cyberspace.