This involves not just its relationship with groups loyal to it across the region, including in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, but also its political, diplomatic, and, more recently, military maneuvers under the administration of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Over 200 days of warfare against Gaza, the power posturing between Tel Aviv and Tehran escalated, culminating in the "shadow war" between Iran and Israel, ongoing for years, advancing to new heights potentially verging on direct conflict, especially from the Iranian side.

In the early days of the Gaza conflict, Iranian officials sought to demonstrate what they termed a "moment of superiority," threatening to expand the war's scope to front lines against Israel if it continued bombing the Gaza Strip. This was essentially a political demonstration by Iran.

Iranian implications of involvement in the conflict, without official acknowledgment, contrast with Western reports, particularly from the United States, regarding Iran's role in "Al-Quds Fury"—the name given by Hamas to its October 7 operation.

In a blame game aimed at attracting international actors to the conflict, Western newspapers, citing Israeli sources, accused Iran of orchestrating the attack, while media outlets and agencies, leveraging Iranian sources, refuted the Israeli narrative.

Iran also signaled its motives behind the attack including retaliating for the death of former operations chief Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad in early 2020. Tehran quickly sought to backtrack on those declarations to avoid upsetting its strategic balances.

Diplomatic Display

Iran hastened diplomatically to strengthen its regional connections with various actors and pushed forward the publicly stated policy of improving relations with regional countries under President Raisi. This was an attempt to break the international isolation, particularly after the war in Ukraine, which diminished prospects of reviving the "nuclear deal".

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian's statement at Tehran University in December, claiming that no agreement on Palestine could be reached without consulting Iran, typifies this "diplomatic display".

Display of Relations

Parallel to diplomatic efforts, Tehran flaunted the breadth of its relationships surrounding Israel, continuing support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and engaging in discussions and coordination with these movements in Doha, Beirut, and Damascus. This support extended to armed groups and factions ideologically aligned with Iran, notably Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi group in Yemen.

Naval Display

In early November, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called for "cutting the vital arteries of Israel," leading to Houthi military operations against commercial ships in the Red Sea accused of being linked to Israel. This renewed regional maritime tensions.

Response from Israel

Following an increase in attacks in the Red Sea and assaults by Iran-aligned factions on U.S. forces, Israel conducted precise airstrikes in December, targeting and killing senior Revolutionary Guards in Syria, highlighting the significant Israeli response.

Attrition and Escalation

Continuous escalation led to substantial losses for the Revolutionary Guard in Damascus. Iran threatened retaliation after its consulate was bombed. Western powers attempted to dissuade Israel from further attacks, yet Israel launched a limited strike on a military airport in northern Iran's city of Isfahan, causing significant damage.

This cycle of retaliation and counter-retaliation between Iran and Israel suggests that the display of power between the two nations remains open-ended, even beyond the cessation of the Gaza War.