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The Iran war and Poland [826]
An interesting summary by one BILD expert Or Yissar:
(translating errors are all on Google!!!)
bild.de/politik/ausland-und-internationales/analyse-von-politik-vize-filipp-piatov-warum-die-mullahs-heute-allein-dastehen-6859168e2083c34f34ff2d50
They were considered brilliant strategists, but now they've lost almost everything:
The mullahs are faced with the ruins of their strategy.
The nuclear program has been largely destroyed. The ballistic missiles are almost exhausted. And the regime's crown jewel, the powerful proxy armies, have done nothing to protect the mullahs from Israel and the US.
How could the Iranian rulers have miscalculated so much?
"I have built six armies for you..."
Just a few years ago, the mullahs seemed unstoppable, feeling stronger than ever.
The best evidence: A reported quote from Iran's most important general, Qassem Soleimani. He coordinated the terrorist organizations in the Middle East and told his men in 2019:
"I have built six armies for you outside Iran and created a corridor 1,500 kilometers long and 1,000 kilometers wide - all the way to the shores of the Mediterranean."No enemy could get past these six armies.
"Iran had surrounded Israel with a 'ring of fire'"
"Iran has built a strategic network in the Middle East to surround Israel with a 'ring of fire,'" Israeli Iran expert and former military intelligence officer Or Yissachar told BILD. Soleimani's unit had proxies everywhere: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and even the Palestinian West Bank.
Soleimani was eliminated by the US in 2020, but his successors continued his work. With terrifying success and without resistance from the international community.
On October 7, everything changed.
Then came October 7, 2023 - and changed everything. With Iranian support, the Palestinian Hamas carried out the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust (1,200 dead, 250 hostages). A day later, the Iranian-controlled Hezbollah opened fire from Lebanon.
What frightened Israel even more was the thought of what could have happened on that October 7th. What if the heavily armed Hezbollah had also sent thousands of its Iranian-trained fighters across the border to kill and kidnap Israeli citizens en masse? What if militias from Syria, the Yemeni Houthis, and other Iranian proxies had attacked at the same?
This worst-case scenario was horrifying. But so was the reality. Northern Israel had been rendered uninhabitable by rocket fire. Hundreds of thousands of Hezbollah rockets were aimed at targets across the country. The nuclear threat from Iran grew unchecked on the horizon.
Israel understood: It had to act!
In Jerusalem, they understood: Israel's enemies didn't have to destroy it. Making life unbearable for Israelis was enough to wipe them off the map, step by step.
In Tehran, they didn't understand the effect this realization had on Israel. "The Iranians misjudged the Israeli mentality," says expert Yissachar. Above all, "the will to strike back and eliminate threats-especially after October 7."
The army and Mossad targeted the Islamists one by one. "Israel succeeded in inflicting severe damage on each of these groups in succession-like toppling dominoes," says Yissachar.
First Hezbollah, then the mullahs
In September 2024, Israel defeated Iran's most important proxy army, the Lebanese Hezbollah, which was considered invincible. In an unprecedented wave of airstrikes and intelligence operations, thousands of Hezbollah Islamists were disabled, the entire leadership eliminated, and the missile arsenal decimated. Shortly thereafter, the Iranian-backed Syrian regime, whose bodyguard Hezbollah had served, collapsed.
The mullahs misread the signals. In October 2024, they attacked Israel with 200 ballistic missiles. The goal was to deter the Jewish state. The effect was the opposite: The mullahs only made it clearer to Jerusalem that they were a threat that had to be eliminated at all costs.
"Iran considered its proxies loyal fighters"
On June 13, 2025, it became apparent that Iran had underestimated Israel's military power, intelligence preparation, and risk-taking: In a brutal strike, Israel eliminated Iran's most important generals and attacked its missile arsenal and nuclear facilities. This also enabled the American attack on its nuclear program.
And the mullah regime, which just a few years ago boasted of its six armies, is not only militarily defeated, but completely alone.
"Iran considered its proxies unconditionally loyal fighters, but in fact they were mercenaries," says former intelligence officer Yissachar. "At the crucial moment, the protégés betrayed their mentor and relied on national self-interest to avoid further damage."
The weakened Hezbollah rejected a request for assistance from Tehran. The Houthis, perhaps frightened by Israel's military capabilities, remain largely silent. Hamas in Gaza, a shadow of its former self, is no longer capable of escalation.
Iran's ring of fire around Israel has been broken.
Interesting man:
Or Yissachar is an Iran expert at the Israel Defense and Security Forum think tank. He is fluent in Farsi (the official language of Iran) and regularly briefs leading Israeli politicians and military officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Iran. He previously served in the renowned reconnaissance unit 8200, part of the military intelligence agency.He should know what he speaks about....