Facing deep economic troubles and a restive population, the government seems to have adopted a policy of declaring victory over Israel and cracking down at home, analysts say.
As the conflict between Israel and Hamas spills over, we sketched out a social network of the alliances and enmities at play.
A recent round of strikes has brought the conflict more clearly into the open and raised fears of a broader war.
In Israel, officials described the strike as a limited response and reports from both sides suggested it did not appear to cause significant damage to military sites.
Israeli officials say they didn’t see a strike on a high-level Iranian target in Syria as a provocation, and did not give Washington a heads-up about it until right before it happened.
Israel se había acostumbrado a atacar a funcionarios iraníes sin sufrir represalias directas por parte de Irán. Dicha suposición fue revertida por los ataques del sábado.
The Israeli war cabinet met again on Monday to discuss the strike, with some hawkish members of the prime minister’s government calling for a swift and forceful retaliation.
Israel had grown used to targeting Iranian officials without head-on retaliation from Iran, an assumption overturned by Iran’s attacks on Saturday.
Experts say Tehran does not want a broader war. But it is far from clear whether Iran or Israel will choose to escalate a conflict that has become more direct and out of the shadows.
The killing, which Israel called a “terrorist attack,” prompted rioting by Israeli settlers that killed one Palestinian and raised fears of a broader escalation.
After Israel killed several top Iranian commanders, Iran wants to respond without provoking further escalation, military analysts say, but there is a dangerous risk of miscalculation.
The State Department has barred its employees from traveling to large parts of Israel. Iran has repeatedly vowed to strike back over the deadly bombing this month of an Iranian Embassy complex in Syria.
The visit of Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, the U.S. military commander in the Middle East, came as diplomats sought to avert a wider war.
The covert operation, described by U.S., Iranian and Israeli officials, is heightening concerns that Iran is seeking to turn the West Bank into a flashpoint in its shadow war with Israel.
Soaring needs and wealthy countries’ focus on Ukraine have left aid agencies with too little money to address the world’s other crises, forcing them to cut programs.