Iran's Military Strategy Evolves
Israel Dismisses Trump's Concerns as Iran Shifts to Aggressive Military Stance
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Israel ignored a direct plea from President Trump and launched retaliatory strikes on Iran in the early hours of June 8, 2026 — hitting a petrochemical plant in Mahshahr just hours after Tehran fired roughly 11 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory. Trump had called Prime Minister Netanyahu personally, urging him to "hold fire." Netanyahu ignored the call. El Periódico reported that Trump told aides: "Israel had its bombing, and Iran had its bombing. We don't need another."
The exchange marks a turning point in the conflict. Iran has shifted from a defensive posture — only striking if attacked on its own soil — to an active deterrence strategy. Tehran now treats Israeli strikes on Lebanon as a direct attack on Iran itself, according to Diario de Mallorca.
How Two Days of Strikes Broke the Fragile Ceasefire
On the morning of June 7, Israel struck two apartment buildings in Dahye, a southern district of Beirut. At least two people were killed and 20 wounded. That night, Iran responded with several waves of ballistic missiles aimed directly at Israel. It was Tehran's most assertive direct strike on Israeli soil since the conflict began in February 2026, according to El Periódico de Aragón.
A fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire had been signed on April 8 between Washington and Tehran. Israel was excluded from those talks. Tehran had conditioned the truce on a stop to fighting in Lebanon. Israel rejected that link entirely — insisting on a free hand to dismantle Hezbollah's infrastructure. That disagreement is now at the center of the crisis, according to Información.
Iran's 'Sense of Victory' Fuels a Bolder Military Doctrine
Analysts say Iran feels it has survived a superpower assault and come out stronger. The U.S. and Israel launched "Operation Epic Fury" on February 28, targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites. Yet Iran was not toppled. Satellite images reviewed by CNN showed Iran had re-opened 50 of 69 underground missile sites that were supposed to have been destroyed. Tehran struck Israel twice in 2026 without regime collapse. That, analysts say, is the source of its "feeling of victory," as reported by El Correo Gallego.
Iran's Expediency Council chair Sadegh Larijani put the new doctrine plainly. "If any component of the Axis of Resistance is attacked, the response will extend beyond geographical borders," he said. This is a direct shift from Iran's old "Forward Defense" model — using proxies like Hezbollah to keep wars away from Iranian soil — to one where Tehran acts as a direct military guarantor of Lebanon, according to La Opinión de Murcia.
Netanyahu Defies Trump, Deepening U.S.-Israel Rift
Trump's frustration with Netanyahu is now open. He posted on Truth Social demanding both sides stop "shooting." He reportedly used expletives to describe Netanyahu's actions in private calls, according to Diario de Ibiza. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, vowed that the IDF "will continue to operate in Lebanon against Hezbollah" regardless of any Iranian threats or U.S. pressure.
Military historian Danny Orbach of Hebrew University offered a blunt reading of Israel's defiance. Israel's strikes were a message to Trump, he said: if any deal "tramples too heavily on Israeli interests, Israel can overturn the table." Netanyahu faces elections and has staked his political survival on "absolute victory." Eighty percent of Israelis support continuing the war in Lebanon even if a ceasefire with Iran is reached, according to La Provincia.
A Wider Crisis: Energy Markets, Red Sea, and Lebanon's Human Toll
The stakes extend well beyond the battlefield. Iran now controls roughly 24% of global energy trade through its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. Further escalation risks sending oil prices to record highs. On June 8, Houthi rebels in Yemen announced a full ban on Israeli ships in the Red Sea, adding new pressure to global supply chains, according to El Periódico Mediterráneo.
Lebanon is bearing the heaviest human cost. Since Israel's ground invasion of southern Lebanon on March 2, more than 3,300 people have been killed and 1 million displaced. Twenty-nine Lebanese Army soldiers have been killed in Israeli strikes, even though Lebanon's military is not a primary combatant. The Institute for National Security Studies warns Israel is "going in circles" in Lebanon — winning battles like the capture of Beaufort Castle on May 31, but with no clear way out, according to La Opinión de Zamora.
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