Mohsen Tanabandeh, a prominent Iranian actor and director, mourned his nephew

At the heart of the conflict lies Iran's fervent opposition to the existence of Israel, rooted in the Islamic Revolution of 1979. This revolutionary ideology views Israel as an illegitimate, Western-imposed entity on Islamic lands, a "Zionist entity" that must be eradicated. This foundational belief is not merely rhetorical; it underpins Iran's foreign policy and its strategic alignment with various non-state actors across the Middle East. For the Iranian regime, the liberation of Jerusalem and Palestine is a core tenet, a mission that justifies its significant investment in what it terms the "Axis of Resistance."