The fact is that we are already at war. It may not be official, but it is no less real. It’s been going on for a few years now, even if its intensity has gone back and forth based on shifting circumstances. It is being waged on many fronts, both covertly and in the open. The front that gets the most attention is Syria. On that front, Iran and its subsidiaries (Assad and Hezbollah) are fighting against a bizarre coalition that can lead to nothing good. This alliance brings together Sunnis of various shades of extremism, terrorist groups such as Islamic Jihad and al-Qaeda, Western nations (who mainly provide money), and “moderate” Arab states.

As usual, Israel is caught in the middle. But there are the other fronts too: between Israel and Iran, between Iran and the West, between Israel and Hezbollah, and between Israel and Hamas. Apart from all that, Egypt is burning, Jordan is wobbling, and the situation inside Lebanon hardly bodes well. Welcome to the Middle East.

Now let’s assume that reports about a huge, mysterious blast at the subterranean uranium enrichment site in Fordow are true. Given the restrictions imposed by the Israeli censors and the limited amounts of accessible information, we have no way to confirm it for now. On Monday [Jan. 28], a White House spokesperson denied these reports, as did the IAEA (January 29). And yet, reports about the blast continue to surface, so let us assume, for the sake of argument, that there really was an explosion. This wasn’t some “work-related accident,” but a premeditated blast, the (remarkable) result of a covert action by Israel’s Mossad or some coalition of Western intelligence agencies (which has become more and more frequent of late, when dealing with Iran).

Such a blast, which should have destroyed Iran’s most significant nuclear facility, constitutes a real strategic shift. After all, this is the very facility for which the term “immune zone” was coined. An attack of this magnitude is grounds for a full-fledged declaration of war, rather than some covert campaign fought by agents and other operatives. We’re talking real war. W-A-R. If Iran links this operation to Israel, it could order its representatives throughout the Middle East to launch their entire arsenals against Israel, or it could do it itself, or we might see some combination of the above. The current situation is highly reminiscent of the destruction of Syria’s nuclear reactor in Deir al-Zour by Israel’s air force. At the time, Israel was concerned that if news of the attack became public knowledge, Assad would be forced to respond, if only out of sheer humiliation. Things would then spin out of control and result in an all-out war. Back then, Israel’s spokespeople talked about a “miscalculation” that could carry the whole region past the brink of war. It was why the entire IDF was present on the Golan Heights for military maneuvers, while Israel’s political and military leadership clambered into its bunker and ignored the reactor’s sudden disappearance. They wanted to provide Assad with an opportunity to ignore it too.