Tension in the Middle East is reaching its peak as the fate of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese armed faction Hezbollah, has not been confirmed due to a targeted airstrike by Israel.

This is because Hezbollah, a key member of the ‘Axis of Resistance’, a coalition of pro-Iranian armed forces in the Middle East, is on the verge of collapse, and its leader, Iran, is also in a situation where it has no choice but to take action in some way.

Starting with supporting the Lebanese armed political faction Hezbollah in the 1980s, Iran formed an axis of resistance by uniting anti-American and anti-Israel forces in the Middle East, and Hezbollah was evaluated as having the strongest power among them.

However, Israel, which has been sharpening its sword for nearly 20 years since it virtually lost the war against Hezbollah in 2006, eliminated many of Hezbollah’s top figures in just over a week through a beheading operation.

Hezbollah, which was helplessly pushed back despite having 150,000 rockets and missiles, ended up being bombed to its command center secretly located in the south of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on the evening of the 27th (local time).

The British daily Telegraph said, “Israel has thrown the gauntlet to Iran,” and evaluated, “Among the actions Israel can take to escalate the war, the only thing more powerful than an attempt to eliminate Nasrallah is the bombing of (Iranian capital) Tehran.”

Israel, which had claimed that Iran was manipulating Hezbollah and other ‘proxy forces’ to attack its country, eventually made clear its intention to engage in direct confrontation with Iran.

In that respect, the Telegraph pointed out that the bombing “is a huge gamble and could leave a huge repercussion that will last for years.”

Iran has been using Hezbollah as a deterrent to prevent Israel from directly attacking the country. The Telegraph predicted that if Israel goes beyond simply weakening Hezbollah and destroys it, there could be a fundamental change in the balance of power between Iran and Israel.

Prior to the bombing of Hezbollah headquarters, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, “There is no place in Iran that Israel’s long arm cannot reach, and this also applies to the entire Middle East.”

Iran flew hundreds of missiles and suicide drones toward mainland Israel after a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) was killed in an Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, in April this year.

However, Iran did not retaliate until 12 days later, and most of the missiles were shot down, so Israel suffered no significant damage. Experts believe that this is the result of Iran, which was reluctant to escalate the war, controlling the level by giving Israel enough time to prepare.

Iran blamed Israel and pledged revenge when Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, was assassinated in Tehran, the capital of Iran, last July, but has not yet taken actual action.

It is believed that this is because they do not want to directly confront Israel at a time when they are trying to improve relations with the West, including the United States, by restoring the nuclear agreement and lifting international sanctions, following the inauguration of reform-minded President Massoud Fezezhikian.

However, if Hezbollah is allowed to collapse, Iran’s leadership of the axis of resistance could be shaken to its core.

The Iranian embassy in Lebanon condemned today’s airstrike targeting Hezbollah headquarters as “a dangerous act of escalating tensions that will change the rules of the game.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi criticized Israel and the United States at a United Nations Security Council meeting held in New York.

He claimed, “This morning, the Israeli regime used several 5,000-pound (approximately 2,268 kg) bunker busters gifted from the United States to hit residential areas in Beirut,” and claimed that the United States was complicit in Israel’s crimes by providing military support to Israel. He raised his voice saying he was doing it.

He also criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said at the meeting that day that he could attack Iran, saying, “A high-profile murderer dared to appear at the United Nations with outrageous threats and disgusting lies that he would ‘invade other countries and kill more people.’ “It is a historical shame to have tarnished the General Assembly,” he said, according to AFP.

(Photo = Yonhap News)

Reporter Kim Hyeon-gyeong khkkim@wowtv.co.kr