Rising Tensions Between Iran and Israel

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• How Iran and Israel Became Arch-Rivals?
• Are Israel and Iran Headed for a War?
• Seize of Israeli Container by Iran

Why in News?

• Indian government sources confirmed that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had seized a Nhava Sheva-bound ship with 17 Indian nationals on board for its links with Israel.
• New Delhi was in touch with Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels to ensure the security, welfare and early release of the Indian nationals.

How Iran and Israel Became Arch-Rivals?

• 1979 was a pivotal year:
  • While Iran was ruled by the Pahlavi dynasty for more than a half-century, Iranian-Israeli bilateral relations remained cordial. Iran was one of the first Muslim countries to recognise the new state of Israel.
  • However, ties between the two countries collapsed after Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. 
  • Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was ousted, and the new supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, pursued a policy of standing up to "arrogant" world powers.
  • Still, limited cooperation between Israel and Iran continued into the 1980s. But later a hostile rivalry emerged as Iran built up and funded proxy militias in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.
  • As a result, a shadow war between Iran and Israel grew over the years.
• Iran's nuclear program is a main target:
  • Iran's nuclear program (which it has always insisted is entirely peaceful) has been a primary focus of Israeli attacks.
  • Tehran believes Israel and the U.S. introduced the Stuxnet computer virus in the early 2000s to target the centrifuges enriching uranium for Iran's nuclear program.
  • A series of sabotage attacks continued into the 2020s, as Israel sought to damage Iranian nuclear facilities.
• War by proxy
  • Iran has long backed armed groups around the region that target Israel as well as the U.S. military.
  • The main one is Hezbollah in Lebanon, formed in the 1980s to fight the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon.
  • Hezbollah has been firing rockets into northern Israel since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

Are Israel and Iran Headed for a War?

• The Israeli war on Hamas is on the edge of exploding into a wider conflict with a likely Iranian retaliation over a suspected Israeli strike earlier this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria.
• The conflict has spread across the Middle East since the eruption of the Gaza war, with Iran-backed groups declaring support for the Palestinians, waging attacks from Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.
• Iran has so far avoided direct confrontation with Israel or the United States, while declaring support for its allies. However, the strike on the Iranian consular building in Syria changes that.

Seize of Israeli Container by Iran

Q.1. What is the 'Axis of Resistance'?

The 'Axis of Resistance' includes not only Hamas, the Palestinian group that ignited the war by attacking Israel, but also, the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, the Houthi movement in Yemen, various Shi'ite armed groups in Iraq and Syria.

Q.2. How does the Israel Hamas war affect India?

Since India is a net importer of crude oil, an extended conflict could result in an increased import bill. Prolonged conflicts may lead to elevated petrol and diesel prices, inflationary pressures, higher fiscal deficits, currency depreciation, and possibly reduced economic growth in India.

Source: Iran seizes Israel-linked cargo ship with 17 Indians on board

NPR

ET