Israeli writer and military analyst Avi Ashkenazi considered that Iran has moved from the stage of issuing threats to the stage of implementing field steps on several fronts, warning that ignoring the statements issued by Tehran may lead Israel to repeat the strategic mistakes it committed in its previous confrontations with Hezbollah and the Hamas movement.
In an article published by the Maariv newspaper, Ashkenazi said that Iran today, after the end of the war, is conducting what he described as a “show of force,” but this time not through traditional military parades, but rather through the crowds that participated in the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strike by the Israeli army during Operation “Lion’s Roar” on February 28.
He added that the speeches delivered during the funeral ceremony were, according to his description, characterized by a hard-line tone, during which the speakers pledged revenge against Khamenei and those they described as those responsible for targeting Iran, considering that Tehran “is not content with threats, but has been working for weeks on several fronts.”
The writer believes that the main challenge facing the Israeli army is to prevent Iran from creating new hotspots of friction with Israel, and to work to keep the level of escalation under control.
In this context, he referred to the visit of Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to the Beaufort Heights, where he said: “The Beaufort region is a strategic area full of terrorist infrastructure. Hezbollah, with Iranian funding and guidance, has built over decades a vast system of tunnels inside the mountain, which includes command centers, combat management facilities, firing sites, and infrastructure to carry out attacks against the towns of the north.”
Ashkenazi added that it is still unclear how long the Israeli army will continue to allow what he described as “Iranian strategic tunnels” operated by Hezbollah inside the Ali al-Tahir Heights in Lebanon.
According to the writer, Iran is putting pressure on the United States to prevent the destruction of these tunnels, some of which he says dozens of Hezbollah members are still trapped inside. He considers that every day that passes without their destruction may put Israel facing future challenges, adding: “There are matters that should not be postponed until tomorrow, and Iran’s story is not over yet.”
Ashkenazi also touched on the statements of US President Donald Trump, considering that he is sending strict messages, but he “does not miss an opportunity to embarrass Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and show that he is the decision-maker,” calling at the same time on Israel to listen carefully to the threats and statements issued by Tehran.
He pointed out that Hezbollah, after the Second Lebanon War, considered itself victorious, so, according to its opinion, it changed its military doctrine from “defending Lebanon” to “liberating the Galilee.”
He added that the Hamas movement, after Operation Protective Edge, emerged from the Gaza tunnels believing that it had withstood the Israeli army, so it moved, according to his description, from the doctrine of “defending Gaza” to “liberating Jerusalem.”
The writer believes that Israel’s ignoring of these shifts in the doctrine of its opponents ultimately led, in his estimation, to the attack on October 7, and then to the outbreak of the “Iron Swords” war, which he says has been going on for more than 1,000 days.
Ashkenazi concludes that opponents’ statements should not be treated as mere political propaganda, but rather as indicators of strategic shifts that may determine the course of future confrontations, according to his vision.
