The verbal escalation between Israel and Hezbollah has been intensifying recently.
Iran and Hezbollah are closely monitoring Defense Minister Yoav Galant’s visit to Washington, observing the discussions with senior U.S. officials on addressing the situation in southern Lebanon.
Senior intelligence officials in Israel believe that, although Iran does not desire a regional war, it is preparing for this possibility.
Iran will not allow a scenario where an extensive military confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon leads to a significant defeat for Hezbollah, which Iran has developed as its strongest forward military outpost in the Middle East.
This outpost serves as a deterrent against attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and as a significant threat to Israel and the U.S.
Iran has started preparing for a potential Israeli pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah and an IDF ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
Coordination has begun between senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards officials and Shia militias in Iraq to facilitate their entry into Lebanon to support Hezbollah against the IDF.
Three Shia militias, “Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq,” “Al-Anjaba’ Movement,” and “Katayib Sayyid al-Shuhda’a,” have already expressed their willingness to enter Lebanon from Iraq to fight alongside Hezbollah.
General Kiumareth Heidari, commander of the Iranian army’s ground forces, stated yesterday that “the axis of resistance will not remain silent in the face of any Israeli attack on Lebanon and will respond with force against the evil of the Zionists.”
Iraqi officials reported that thousands of fighters from Iran-supported militias in Iraq are prepared to come to Lebanon and join Hezbollah if the current conflict escalates into an all-out war.
The Shiite militias, including the Iraqi “Al-Hashd al-Shaabi,” the Afghan “Al-Fatemyoun,” the Pakistani “Al-Zayinbiyoun,” and the Houthi rebels from Yemen, can easily enter Lebanon to fight with Hezbollah against IDF forces.
Recently, the armed Shiite militias in Iraq have increased rocket and missile attacks on Israel from Iraqi territory, several hundred kilometers away.
Most of the missiles launched from Baghdad or the Iraqi-Syrian border were intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems.
These attacks aim to support the military wings of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in their fight against Israel.
These Shia militias have previously attacked American bases in Syria, Iraq, and Jordan.
Last January, they killed three American soldiers in a suicide drone attack on an American base in Jordan.
