In my column from the initial days of the war with Iran, I wrote that I “willingly accept” the repeated trips to the bomb shelter day and night in my suburban Tel Aviv apartment building “in the hope that the defeat of the current Iranian regime could transform Israel’s security and geopolitical situation for the better.” (And once we’re out of the shelter, the colds that my neighbors and I have been spreading among us should also end.)
I still hope that the defeat of the regime is possible, but roughly three weeks into the war, it hasn’t happened and it’s unclear when – and how – the war might end. In the round that Israel and the United States fought against Iran in June of last year, President Donald Trump suddenly halted the fighting on the 12th day of the war and, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declared victory. Trump announced that Iran’s nuclear program – the ostensible reason for the war – had been obliterated.
But nine months later, we’ve been told that the Iranians haven’t given up on its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon and that it resumed production of ballistic missiles, which pose a threat to the civilian populations of Israel and Arab countries in the Gulf region. I and most other Israelis hope that the current round will be conclusive. If it is, the benefits for Israel would be transformative.
Iran is the source of a huge amount of evil. In addition to its direct threat to wipe out Israel, Iran’s major proxies – Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – have waged the longest war that Israel has ever experienced. If the current war ousts the Iranian regime or at least plants the seeds of its collapse, it could place Israel on a trajectory to transform its security situation as long as it also addresses the national aspirations of the Palestinians.
Without support from Iran, Hezbollah would be bereft of its major funding source. The militia group built an independent army that is stronger than Lebanon’s national military. But its persistent habit of dragging the country into wars with Israel, to further the interests of Iran, has brought disaster upon Lebanon. In a departure from prior policy, the current Lebanese government has called for Hezbollah to be disarmed.
That’s easier said than done. But it’s another indication that the interests of Israel and the Arab countries are converging. Both the Israeli and Lebanese governments want Hezbollah defanged and the entire Middle East wants Iran defanged.
The outcome of the war with Iran remains open to question as I write this, but there are several rays of light on the horizon. First of all, Israel’s military prowess in the war has been dazzling. Trump called the Israeli air force the second most powerful in the world, after the U.S. Air Force. That’s quite a feat for a country of 10 million people.
“This may be the first time since the Second World War that Washington has had an equal partner with which to share the burdens of war,” New York Times columnist Bret Stephens noted.
And, as always, Israelis are resilient. The past two-and-a-half years since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack have been very difficult, but they have also brought out some of the best of the country’s national traits. If we needed any further proof, it came last week with the results of the latest World Happiness Index, based on the years 2023 to 2025 – which in Israel were marked by mass anti-government protests followed by nonstop war. Despite it all, Israel maintains its ranking as the eighth happiest country in the world.
Cliff Savren is a former Clevelander who covers the Middle East from Ra’anana, Israel. He is an editor at the English edition of Haaretz.