The Iran File

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has drawn the world’s eyes away from some alarming developments regarding Iran.

In a few days, Major General Amikam Norkin will end his term as commander of the Israeli Air Force and retire from the IDF. In off-the-record conversations ahead of his departure, he speaks openly about the war being waged against Iran and its proxies, the so-called “Campaign Between the Wars.”

The conflict, which has yet to receive a name, is becoming more and more public. It is fought 24/7 in air, sea, and land, as well as in cyberspace. It is fought in Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Eritrea, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and other areas, directly and through proxies. At any moment, any success that is too dramatic or well-publicized, by either side, risks igniting a major war.

The official theater of operations for now is Syria, an area where Israel is in rare agreement with Russia and Assad on expelling the Iranians. But in the past few weeks, the war has expanded. Two weeks ago, Tehran accused Israel of launching a strike on a drone base in western Iran, in which two Iranian soldiers were killed. In retaliation, the Iranians attacked a target they claimed was a Mossad base in Erbil, Iraq. At the same time, the Iranians launched a wide-ranging cyber-attack on Israeli government websites and leaked personal documents of current Mossad chief Dudi Barnea and his family, including his tax papers for 2020.