ASSESSMENTS

Israel Could Expand Its Anti-Iran Fight to Iraq and Yemen

Oct 26, 2018 | 11:00 GMT

An Iranian military truck carries a Sejjil missile past a portrait of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a Sept. 22, 2013, military parade in Tehran marking the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Israel will seek to roll back Iranian influence in Iraq and Yemen, but its considerations in each country will be different.

(ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

Yemen does not present an existential threat to Israel, but Israel could move against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen to foster better ties with Saudi Arabia.
Iran's decision to supply militias in Iraq with ballistic missiles could provoke some form of Israeli response.
Any strike on Iranian proxies in Iraq, however, would increase anti-American sentiment and potentially push Baghdad even more toward Tehran.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran and Israel have been ideological and strategic enemies, although the implacable foes have largely limited their battles to the Palestinian territories and the Levantine states of Lebanon and Syria. Now, however, the United States is turning up the pressure on Iran, a country that both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also view as a threat. Both factors present an opportunity for Israel to act against Iran well beyond the traditional Levantine theater -- and bring Israel closer to key Gulf Arab states. The recent public revelation that Tehran has delivered ballistic missiles to allied militias in Iraq has led some Israeli officials to suggest the country could become a new front in its bid to counter Iran. The musings, meanwhile, come not long after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to send Israeli ships to ensure the Red Sea's Bab el-Mandeb strait...

Keep Reading

Proceed to sign up

Already have an account?