If Ania had been assassinated in Gaza, because he had been going back for whatever reason,

I don't think you would see Iran nearly feel as compelled to respond.

Because Iran's number one priority is always, how do we protect the regime and ensure regime stability? One of the things that's not being talked about is

Hezbollah's weapons inventories all from Iran.

Cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, a war with Hezbollah is not going to look like a war with Hamas.

There's almost nobody in Israel, I think nobody who follows this conflict as a whole, a broader

conflict, who doesn't think a war with Hezbollah is coming.

Hey, welcome back to the Modern War Institute podcast, brought to you with the very generous

support of the West Point Class of 1974.

I'm John Amble, editorial director at MWI, and on this episode, I'm joined by Jonathan Panikov.

He is the director of the Skolcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council,

and his longtime professional engagement with the Middle East equips him with uniquely deep and nuanced

insights into the subject of this episode, the rivalry between Israel and Iran and its impact on the

region's geopolitical and security landscape. A few weeks ago, Israel killed a senior Hezbollah

commander in a strike in Lebanon. The next day, a Hamas political leader was killed in Tehran.

Iran has threatened retaliation against Israel, but so far has not followed through on that threat.

What should we make of these periods of heightened tensions? How do they fit into the broader

Israeli-Iranian rivalry? And what comes next? We explore those questions and more in this

episode before we get to it a couple quick things. First, very special thanks to the West Point

Class of 1974 for their generous

support to MWI. And second, as always, what you're here in this episode are the views of the

participants and don't represent those of West Point, the Army, or any other agency of the U.S.

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