How might Iran respond to an Israeli ground incursion into Gaza?
The Islamic Republic appears uninterested in a direct confrontation with Israel amid the latter's war with Tehran-backed militants in Gaza, but has warned that its proxies remain ready to pull the trigger and "re-map" Israel.
TEHRAN — Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Gaza militants, Iran — as a major regional player and a key ally of the Hamas movement — has been pursuing an active diplomatic campaign to isolate Israel. At the same time, it has attempted to project disinterest in a spillover of the conflict.
How will the Islamic Republic react, however, if its sworn enemy goes ahead with its promised ground offensive into the besieged Gaza Strip?
Support for the Palestinian cause has been an ideological principle of Iran's Shiite theocracy since its inception, following the 1979 revolution. Shunning international pressure, Iran has over the past four decades nurtured, funded, armed and expanded a network of proxies around the Middle East to "export the revolution" and cement regional influence, a policy viewed by its Western adversaries as "adventurism" and sponsorship of terror.
The Palestinian cause, a pillar of the republic's establishment
