‘Israel no longer assumes Iran will be deterred by sporadic strikes.’
By Hezy Laing
Israel’s defense posture toward Iran has undergone a profound transformation since the July 2025 war, a conflict that marked the first direct, sustained exchange of fire between the two states.
In the months that followed, Israeli strategy shifted from a doctrine of deterrence at distance to one of continuous, multi‑domain pressure, reflecting the lessons of a confrontation that exposed both vulnerabilities and new opportunities.
The most visible change has been Israel’s move toward persistent pre‑emption, especially in the cyber and air domains.
Dr. Yael Mizrachi, a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, argues that “Israel no longer assumes Iran will be deterred by sporadic strikes.
The 2025 war convinced policymakers that only constant disruption of Iranian capabilities can prevent the next escalation.”
This shift has led to an expanded tempo of covert operations, intensified monitoring of Iranian missile deployments, and a more aggressive posture in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
Another major adjustment is Israel’s accelerated investment in layered air and missile defense, particularly systems designed to counter Iran’s long‑range precision weapons.
During the 2025 conflict, Iran launched more than 350 drones and missiles in a single 48‑hour period, overwhelming parts of Israel’s defensive grid.
Brig. Gen. (res.) Omer Shalev notes that “the war demonstrated that Israel must prepare for saturation attacks on a scale we had not previously modeled.
The response has been a dramatic expansion of directed‑energy systems and long‑range interceptors.”
Israel has since deployed additional Arrow‑3 batteries, expanded Iron Beam testing, and integrated new early‑warning sensors across the Mediterranean and Gulf regions.
Diplomatically, Israel has also tightened its alignment with regional partners.
The Abraham Accords states, along with Jordan and Egypt, now share more real‑time intelligence on Iranian missile movements than at any point in the past.
Gulf analyst Lina al‑Khatib observes that “the 2025 war erased any remaining hesitation among Arab states. Iran’s attack was seen as a regional threat, not just an Israeli one, and that has reshaped the security map.”
Adding to this assessment, defense strategist Prof. Daniel Harari emphasizes that “Israel has shifted from reactive defense to a posture of strategic persistence.
The goal is to keep Iran off balance every single day, across every domain, so Tehran never regains the initiative it briefly seized in 2025.”
Taken together, these shifts reflect a strategic recalibration: Israel now treats Iran not as a distant adversary but as an immediate, multi‑front challenge requiring constant vigilance, deeper alliances, and rapid technological adaptation.
