Strategy

Strategy

Israel's Military-Security Strategies Against the Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria from the Emergence of ISIS to the Fall of Bashar al-Assad's Regime

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
nesa zahedi 1
ruhollah ghasemian 1
abdollah kashkouli 2
1 Assistant Professor Department Of Political Science , CT.B, Islamic Azad University , Tehran , Iran
2 Graduate of Regional Studies, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/rahbord.2025.538947.1840
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to examine Israel's military-security doctrines and strategic approaches to counter the goals and interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria from the emergence of ISIS to the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. This research employs a qualitative descriptive-analytical method based on library and documentary research, including textual analysis, image interpretation, map reading, and examination of books, articles, newspapers, films, photographs, and online sources, both domestic and international, relevant to the subject. The study seeks to answer the main question: What are the primary axes of Israel's military-security strategies against the Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria from the emergence of ISIS to the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime? The findings and conclusions of the article are framed within the hypothesis that the confrontation between the Zionist regime and the Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria—particularly during the rise of ISIS until the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2024—was designed and executed through doctrines and strategies such as Eisenkot, the Destruction of the Octopus, Netanyahu's 2030 Security Strategy, and the Strategy of a Thousand Cuts. These strategies aimed to alter Iran's revolutionary orientation domestically and to contain and control its influence in the West Asian region, specifically in Syria. These strategies were accompanied by actions including attacks on Iranian ships, strikes on Iranian interests in Iraq and Syria, cyber operations, support for hostile and separatist groups and movements, drone and micro-aircraft operations, bombing and sabotage of sensitive and strategic facilities, and kidnapping and interrogation operations.
Keywords
Strategy
military-security doctrine
Shiite geopolitics
hybrid warfare
security
Subjects
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Strategy
Volume 34, Issue 4 - Serial Number 117
Winter 2025
Pages 1045-1074

  • Receive Date 03 August 2025
  • Revise Date 07 October 2025
  • Accept Date 11 October 2025