Twin Assassinations and Regional Escalations
The targeted assassination of Hamas political head Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, following the assassination of top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon, is a significant development in the shadow war between Israel and Iran. These strikes come on the heels of Hezbollah crossing a red line by killing 12 Druze children in the rocket attack on Majdal Shams. While neither side claims to want a full-scale war in the immediate term, this tit-for-tat brinkmanship threatens to bring both sides past the point of no return.
In this timely video briefing, Sima Shine, Head of Iran Program at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), unpacks the various fronts of the ongoing conflict, including prospects for de-escalation, the regional response, implications on the hostage negotiations, and a glimpse into the calculations in Jerusalem and Tehran.