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Dr. Yossi Mansharof, an expert on Iran and Shiite political Islam, is a fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy in Israel. He is on Twitter @Yossi_Mansharof.
Soleimani birthed Iran’s Axis of Resistance, Ghaani coordinated it
Iranian strategy in the Middle East has long centered on nurturing regional proxies and partners — a so-called “Axis of Resistance” — to mount an existential threat to Israel by encircling it in a ring of fire. The bloody war between Israel and Hamas sparked by the latter’s Oct. 7 massacre is the first large-scale implementation of this Axis of Resistance doctrine. Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani’s lasting contribution will be the network’s entry into the battlefield in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
