From cyber jabs to full-blown punches

A series of mysterious “accidents” targeting Iran’s missile and nuclear program is a significant rise in tensions between Israel and the Islamic Republic, leading many to wonder if the IDF’s war-between-wars campaign has expanded to target key nuclear sites.

It started last Thursday, when an explosion was reported at a facility close to Iran’s Parchin military complex. While Tehran said the explosion was caused by a gas leak, satellite photos later showed that the blast took place at a nearby missile production facility.

It was followed by an explosion at a hospital in Tehran that killed 19 people. And on Friday, a large fire caused extensive damage to a building at the nuclear complex at Natanz, Iran’s largest uranium-enrichment facility. A previously unknown dissident group, saying that it was opposed to Iran’s security apparatus and calling itself the Homeland Cheetahs, claimed responsibility.

On Saturday, another fire was reported at a power station in the southern Iranian city of Ahvaz, close to the Iraqi border.

While the explosion at the hospital may not be linked to the mysterious “accidents” – Iran is known for its aging infrastructure – many are skeptical about the reasons behind the explosions at key nuclear sites.

Israel has warned repeatedly about Iran’s nuclear ambitions as well as aspirations of regional hegemony. It has admitted to hundreds of airstrikes as part of its campaign of “warbetween-wars” to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the entrenchment of its forces in Syria where they could easily act against Israel.

In late June, as part of the IDF’s new Momentum multiyear plan, the military opened the Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, an entirely new position on the General Staff, which will focus principally on Israel’s fight against Iran.

Speaking at the ceremony marking the opening, Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi warned that Iran has become the most dangerous country in the Middle East and “it’s made significant progress with its nuclear program, but the nuclear [threat] is no longer the only threat. Iran also possesses conventional weapons.”

The new directorate, under the command of Brig.-Gen. Tal Kalman, is expected to bolster the IDF’s attack capabilities, including in the cybersphere.