New targets appear to indicate an expansion of Israel’s war aims beyond the Iranian nuclear facilities that consumed the first days of the conflict.

The most frightening scenario, considering the strategy Israel has employed in Lebanon, would be a series of attacks targeting lower-level figures, which could escalate to higher-level figures depending on the response or lack thereof, creating an even more frightening scenario than the current one.

The risk of conflict is growing as Iran signals strikes on Israeli nuclear facilities despite ongoing nuclear talks.

After such a devastating attack from Israel, Iran’s leaders see no choice but to fight back. Any sign of weakness would severely undermine the regime’s legitimacy at home.

D-Day has arrived for Israel and Iran. After years of covert warfare, cyberattacks, and clandestine operations, Israel has taken the initiative. In the early hours of Friday, June 13, it launched a direct assault on the heart of Iran’s nuclear program.

In recent months, however, Israel talked about a unique window of opportunity to strike Iranian facilities: Iran’s air defences had been damaged by Israeli attacks last year and its proxies in the region, part of what Tehran calls the Axis of Resistance, had been degraded, including Hezbollah.