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Regional rivals have attacked each other’s interests for decades, including a recent strike in Syria that killed three Iranian commanders. Here are some other notable sticking points.
By Casandra Vinograd
Reporting from Jerusalem
For decades, Israel and Iran have waged a ghost war in the Middle East, exchanging attacks by land, sea, air and cyberspace.
Iran has made extensive use of foreign proxies to undermine Israeli interests, while targeted assassinations of Iranian army leaders and nuclear scientists have been a key component of Israel’s strategy.
The Israeli attack on the Syrian capital Damascus, which killed three senior Iranian commanders on Monday, is the most brazen attack in years, raising fears of a wider confrontation. This would be especially damaging in a region already plagued by turmoil on several fronts, he added. Israel’s war in Gaza, cross-border skirmishes between Israel and the Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah, and attacks through Yemen’s Houthi defense forces against Western interests in the Red Sea. An escalation between Israel and Iran would also threaten to further confuse the United States, given the presence of U. S. troops in the region.
Here are some key moments in this years-long conflict.
The killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, commander of the External Branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a U. S. drone strike in Baghdad was welcomed in Israel.
Iran retaliated by attacking two bases in Iraq that housed U. S. troops with a barrage of missiles, injuring about 100 U. S. service members.
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