Just last week, Iran tried to send a message to the Middle East.
The Revolutionary Guards then received responsibility for launching long-range missiles to Syria, Iraq and Pakistan.
It was a show of force, intended to imply to Israel and the US that Iran can act against them directly, and not only through local terrorist organizations in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.
Pakistan launches missiles towards Iran's territory
One of the targets was even defined as the "headquarters of the Mossad" in Erbil.
The trigger was the attack on the memorial to Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, after which the Iranians rushed to blame Israel and the US, although ISIS accepted responsibility for it.
One of the buildings damaged in the Iranian attack in Erbil (archive), photo: Reuters
Behind the message was Tehran's growing self-confidence, which noticed the American hesitancy.
Against the background of the series of attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen, and the return of the militia to the list of global terrorist organizations, officials in the Biden administration still hope that they will stop the attacks in the Red Sea - and return to focusing on the civil war that destroyed their country.
But the Houthis depend on the Iranians for the supply of weapons and ammunition, and without them their fate will be sealed.
Therefore, they will continue to attack ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in order to harm Israel, as long as they are required to do so.
On the other hand, Iran's message complicated it with its neighbors: in Iraq it was harshly criticized following the attack in Erbil, which led to the death of a Kurdish businessman and his young daughter;
And Pakistan severed diplomatic relations with it for a few days and attacked in its territory.
Beyond that, the five senior members of the Revolutionary Guards who were killed yesterday in Damascus, and her contact in Lebanon who was killed in the Tsur area, paid the price for her provocation.
Attempts to prevent the collapse of Hamas
Meanwhile, Iran's master plan revealed on October 7 is disintegrating.
Although Mohammad Daf's call to Iran and Hezbollah to join the Black Sabbath attack was not answered, Tehran is doing everything they can to save Hamas from losing control of Gaza.
Hezbollah started a limited war in the north, militias from Iraq were driven to Syria, and in Yemen they disrupted the global trade route.
And yet, Israel systematically and continuously dismantles the military capabilities of Hamas.
It is estimated that 17 of the 24 battalions of the military arm were significantly damaged, in addition to dozens of commanders who were killed in Gaza and rocket production infrastructures that were destroyed.
The activity of the combat team of the 5th Brigade in Khirbat Ahzaa in the Gaza Strip, photo: IDF spokesman
While Israel is in the fourth month of the war, commentators and former officials lament the "shuffling" in the Gaza Strip and the failure to achieve the goals.
A healthier look at reality will focus on the trend of fighting, which does not stop despite all the prophecies of rage about American pressure.
In the long term, Hamas is losing more and more territory, fighting forces and terrorist infrastructure.
And even if the method of fighting in the north of the Gaza Strip has changed - it is designed to match the normal fighting of the terrorist squads that still remain in the sector.
In fact, after sweeping most of the Gaza Strip, Hamas turned Rafah, Deir al-Balah and the underground labyrinth of Khan Yunis into its last strongholds.
Nevertheless, it must be admitted that Hamas is making an effort to restore its military capabilities.
In this sense, an equality-breaking move could constitute an injury to the terrorist organization's money pipeline, which goes from Iran to senior members of the political bureau in Hamas who live abroad.
damage the money pipe.
Ismail Haniyeh and the President of Iran Raisi, archive, photo: AP
Cutting it off will neutralize a central motivation of the recruits for the Az ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, so that the road to the destruction of Hamas does not only go through the Gaza Strip - but also in Iran, Qatar and Lebanon.
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