Why Israel must prepare for an independent, open-ended war against Iran and its proxies - opinion

The looming prospect of a joint Israeli-American air campaign against Iran following the upcoming US midterm elections has exposed a profound strategic rift between Washington’s exit strategy and Jerusalem’s existential imperatives.

While US planning reportedly visualizes a short, high-intensity campaign designed to shatter Iran’s surviving nuclear infrastructure and strategic industries before declaring victory and withdrawing, policymakers in Jerusalem face a far more perilous aftermath.

For Israel, a rapid American withdrawal leaves behind an undefeated, deeply aggrieved Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that analysts agree will never surrender.

With Iran capable of unleashing waves of sophisticated maneuvering warheads, attack drones, cluster munitions, and potentially radiological or chemical payloads, Israel cannot afford to let a temporary American victory transition into a permanent heightened state of vulnerability.

To prevent this nightmare scenario, Israel must recognize that striking the Iranian homeland is only half the battle; the Iranian threat cannot be neutralized without systematically severing its regional tentacles. A truly decisive outcome requires the simultaneous, uncompromising destruction of Iran’s primary proxies: Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the remnants of Hamas.

Leaving these heavily armed forward-operating bases intact on Israel’s borders would allow Tehran to conduct a war of attrition by proxy even while its domestic infrastructure burns.

By aggressively dismantling the command structures, missile stockpiles, and political control of these asymmetric armies, Israel can completely isolate Iran, stripping the regime of its strategic depth and leaving it geopolitically stranded in the Middle East.

If the US executes its plan to hammer Iran and immediately pull back its forces, Israel’s operational objective must shift from mere participation to an independent, sustained campaign of long-term containment.

To ensure its survival in the vacuum of an American departure, Israel will have no choice but to systematically dismantle Iran’s broader war-sustaining infrastructure. This means expanding the targeting bank far beyond nuclear sites to permanently cripple Iran’s energy grid, hydrocarbon export capacities, and primary military-industrial complexes.

By neutralizing the economic engines that fund the IRGC and the manufacturing plants that build its missile and drone arsenals, Jerusalem can severely degrade Iran’s ability to project power across the region.

However, destruction alone will not guarantee long-term security against an adversary committed to Israel’s elimination. The critical component of Israel’s post-war strategy must be the immediate initiation of a domestic crash program to achieve absolute qualitative and technological dominance.

Israel must be decisive

While holding the line, Jerusalem must rapidly develop and deploy its own arsenal of Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs) equipped with Maneuvering Reentry Vehicles (MaRVs), Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs), and hypersonic cruise missiles (HCMs).

These advanced next-generation strike capabilities are essential to penetrate evolving air defenses and hold Tehran permanently at risk, establishing a unilateral deterrent that does not rely on shifting political wills in Washington.

Ultimately, the true test of Israel’s resolve will begin the day the American bombers return home. Jerusalem must fundamentally accept a brutal new strategic doctrine: the absolute necessity of preventing the rebuilding of Iran’s offensive capabilities no matter what the cost.

This translates into a policy of continuous proactive interdiction. Any attempt by the IRGC to reconstruct its military-industrial facilities, import critical components, or restore its missile manufacturing capability must be met with immediate, decisive Israeli military action.

By committing to an uncompromising multi-year campaign of proxy elimination, strategic denial, and rapid domestic rearmament, Israel can transform a partial American victory into a definitive solution to the Iranian threat.

The writer spent 30 years in American prisons after being convicted of spying for Israel. Now living in Jerusalem, he is an investor and co-founder in a handful of technology companies. He also writes and speaks about Israel’s need to be militarily self-sufficient.