Israel’s Iron Grip: Treating Iran Like Gaza and Lebanon with Ruthless Precision

Matthew Narh Tetteh

Israel’s ongoing Operation Rising Lion, launched on June 13, 2025, against Iran marks a decisive and unapologetic escalation in its defense strategy, mirroring the iron-fisted tactics it has honed in Gaza and Lebanon. With a hawkish resolve, Israel is dominating Iran’s airspace, issuing evacuation notices before devastating strikes, and systematically eliminating Tehran’s top leadership—along with their replacements—in a campaign that sends a clear message: Iran’s aggression will be crushed with overwhelming force. This is not just a war; it’s a masterclass in preemptive, relentless military dominance, and Israel is right to wield its power without hesitation.

For years, Iran has orchestrated chaos against Israel through its proxies—Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon—arming them with rockets, drones, and ballistic missiles while chanting “Death to Israel.” The October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, which killed 1,200 Israelis, and Hezbollah’s relentless rocket barrages from Lebanon were both fueled by Iranian support. Now, with Iran’s nuclear program racing toward weapons-grade uranium and its direct missile attacks on Israeli cities like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel is treating the Islamic Republic itself like the terrorist enclaves it has long subdued: with evacuation warnings, precise but devastating airstrikes, and a chokehold on its military leadership.

Israel’s playbook is clear and effective. Just as it has done in Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has issued evacuation notices to Iranian civilians near military and nuclear sites, such as the Natanz enrichment facility and missile production hubs in Isfahan and Shiraz. These warnings, dropped via leaflets and broadcasted through hacked Iranian communication networks, underscore Israel’s moral high ground—unlike Iran, which targets Israeli civilians with 2,200-pound warheads, Israel prioritizes military targets while giving non-combatants a chance to flee. Then, with surgical precision, Israel’s F-35s and F-15s, backed by U.S.-supplied bunker-busting bombs, obliterate Iran’s infrastructure, from air defenses to IRGC command centers. Over 100 targets have been hit, setting back Iran’s nuclear program by years and crippling its missile production.

Israel’s dominance of Iranian airspace is absolute. Much like its unchallenged control over Gaza’s skies or Lebanon’s, the IAF has established air superiority over Tehran itself, neutralizing Iran’s outdated S-300 systems and rendering its air force irrelevant. Iranian claims of intercepting Israeli jets are laughable; the IAF operates with impunity, striking at will, day or night. This mirrors Israel’s operations in Lebanon, where Hezbollah’s arsenal, once touted as formidable, has been reduced to rubble, and in Gaza, where Hamas’s tunnels and rocket launchers lie in ruins. Iran, for all its bluster, is now learning the same lesson: no one defies Israel’s air power and survives intact.

The most striking parallel is Israel’s ruthless decapitation of Iran’s leadership. Just as it has systematically eliminated Hamas and Hezbollah commanders, Israel has taken out Iran’s top brass with devastating efficiency. General Hossein Salami, head of the IRGC, and several nuclear scientists were killed in initial strikes, followed by their replacements in subsequent raids. This mirrors the fate of Hamas’s Yahya Sinwar and Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah, whose successors were hunted down with equal ferocity. Israel’s message is unmistakable: no one leading Iran’s war machine is safe, no matter how quickly Tehran shuffles its ranks. This strategy not only disrupts command structures but sows fear and chaos, paralyzing Iran’s ability to respond cohesively.

Critics, predictably, wail about escalation and civilian casualties, but these arguments are hollow. Iran’s missile barrages on Israeli cities, which have killed at least 24 civilians, and its decades-long sponsorship of terrorism forfeit any claim to victimhood. Israel’s strikes, while devastating, are proportionate to the existential threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran. The international community’s hand-wringing—exemplified by the UN’s toothless calls for a ceasefire—ignores the reality that Iran’s aggression, not Israel’s defense, is the root cause of this conflict. Israel’s evacuation notices and precision strikes minimize civilian harm far more than Iran’s indiscriminate attacks ever have.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, backed by a hawkish coalition and tacit U.S. support, is rightly unyielding. Operation Rising Lion, like Israel’s campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, is not about negotiation or half-measures; it’s about dismantling Iran’s ability to threaten the Jewish state. The U.S. has provided critical intelligence and munitions, though President Trump’s public distancing is a minor irritant—Israel has proven it can act alone if needed. Allies like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, quietly cheering Israel’s blows against their mutual foe, underscore the regional consensus: Iran’s malign influence must be stopped.

Israel’s approach—evacuate, strike, dominate, and decapitate—is a proven formula. Iran, like Gaza and Lebanon before it, is now a testing ground for Israel’s resolve and military supremacy. Tehran’s threats of “severe punishment” are empty; its missile salvos are increasingly desperate, intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome and U.S.-backed THAAD systems. The longer Iran persists, the deeper Israel will cut, until its nuclear dreams and military ambitions are reduced to ash. Israel is not merely defending itself; it is reshaping the Middle East, ensuring that no adversary, from Gaza to Tehran, dares challenge its survival again. The world should take note: this is how a nation fights to win.