Thirsty for Revenge

Until now, as Iran pressed forward on its nuclear weapons program and tried to extend its geopolitical reach through Iraq into the Levant, Israel had responded with pinpoint attacks — airstrikes against arms convoys in Syria, assassinations of nuclear scientists, mysterious explosions at Iranian military depots — all the while maintaining a low profile. Perhaps one exception to this modus operandi was the Mossad’s daring 2018 theft of Iran’s nuclear records from a Tehran warehouse, right under the noses of the regime.

Having suffered so many humiliating setbacks, Iran is now desperate for revenge against Israel. The war between Israel and Iran is being fought across five different fronts, and is now escalating. While in the past the Iranians tried to retaliate symmetrically, targeting Israeli scientists and generals, these days any Israeli — maybe any Jew — could be a target.

Thanks to excellent work by the Israeli intelligence community, the authorities were able to issue clear travel warnings for Turkey. Six attempted terrorist attacks in that country have been foiled over the past two weeks; in two of them, the Israeli targets escaped by the skin of their teeth.

The Iranians, in addition to expanding their range of targets to include civilians, have become considerably less cautious. In the past they relied on proxies, but now they’re employing their elite Quds Force directly. Iran’s leadership is under enormous pressure to notch some achievement that could pass as revenge, hitherto without success. Their desperation is such that they have even resorted to fake news, circulating reports to the effect that they fired rockets at a Mossad base in Kurdistan, something that never happened. They have also provided names of multiple Israelis they claim to have eliminated, all of which reflects their intense obsession for getting back at Israel.