The Commander of the Quds Force at the Diplomacy and Resistance Conference

The long-standing geopolitical rivalry between Iran and Israel has transformed from a clandestine shadow war into a direct and overt confrontation, marking one of the most dangerous periods in the history of the modern Middle East. For decades, the two nations engaged in a series of proxy battles, cyber warfare, and targeted assassinations, but the events of late 2025 have shattered the traditional rules of engagement. The current volatility is rooted in a fundamental shift where both states now view direct kinetic strikes as a necessary tool for deterrence rather than a final resort. This erosion of previous "red lines" has created a hair-trigger environment where a single tactical miscalculation or an unannounced military exercise could spiral into a regional conflagration that neither side may be able to fully contain.