When Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi stood in front of the cameras on Aug. 25 and announced that the attempted Iranian drone attack against Israel had been commanded and directly overseen by Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, his statement had one main goal: to make an official Israeli declaration that the intensifying conflict with Iran is not a war with the Iranian people or even with the Iranian regime.
“It’s all Soleimani,” a senior Israeli security source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “Soleimani is the key person leading the fight against Israel with great determination who doesn’t get the broad hints. He must understand that Israel will chase the Quds Force and find it at any time and any place, and also monitor its capacity development and potential threat.” In other words, this is a not a national war.
