Although Israel possesses nuclear weapons, Iran is also a threshold country which has the upper hand over Israel if a direct war happens between the two military powers in the idle East.
Iran and Israel are two arch enemies that share a decades-long history of hostility and conflict against each other. But since the start of the war in Gaza back on October 7, this animosity has increased on an unprecedented scale.
This past Monday, for example, Israel directly targeted Iran’s consulate building in Syria, killing 7 top members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Iran immediately reacted to the attack and Iranian leaders vowed a harsh response to Tel Aviv.
This new level of conflict between Iran and Israel has increased the probability of a direct military clash between the two military powers in the middle East. But if a war erupts between Iran and Israel, which one would beat the other?
Israel possesses nuclear weapons; Iran is a threshold country!
Although Tel Aviv never admitted it openly, it is now clear to everyone that Israel has nuclear bombs, strategic weapons that can easily and quickly cause total destruction if used by any country against the other.
Iran doesn’t possess nuclear weapons, but the country has the complete fuel cycle of nuclear energy production inside Iran and several reports by US intelligence agencies suggest that Tehran’s nuclear know-how and material have increased so much that it can produce nuclear bombs if it wants to within a matter of a few weeks.
Therefore, in case a direct war starts between the two, Israel’s nuclear weapons do not give it any strategic advantage over Iran given the fact that Tehran too can produce such weapons quickly enough.
Why Iran will win the war with Israel
Alongside Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons if it wants to, the country has several strategic advantages over Israel if a war happens between them, which can guarantee victory for Tehran.
First of all, Iran has a population of more than 80 million, most of whom are young and have served in military for two years. This advantage of more man power in the battlefield is crucial at any war, even given the fact that in modern wars, jet fighters, drones, and cyber abilities are in the frontline of the conflicts.
Second, Iran has successfully developed its missile and drone programs in recent years and is now considered one of the biggest producers of such strategic weapons.
Although Israel has been restlessly working on its defense program to confront Iranian missiles and drones, the Iron Doom and the Iron Beam, two of the latest Israeli defense layers, have yet been able to successfully and completely shoot down simple missiles from Hezbollah and Hamad towards Israel, let alone high-tech and sophisticated ballistic and hypersonic missiles that Iran has lately developed.
Third, Iran’s vast geography is yet another advantage that gives Tehran an upper hand in case of a direct clash with Israel. Israel is about 75 times smaller than Iran. Iran is approximately 1,648,195 sq km, while Israel is approximately 21,937 sq km, making Israel 1.33% the size of Iran. Being so small compared to the enemy, Israel can easily be wiped out with only a handful of powerful missiles from Iran.
Last but not least, Iran has much more experience in wars than Israel does. Fighting for more than 8 years with Iraq back in 1980, Iran very well knows how to handle battles. Israel, however, has fought several times recent decades but none of the battles lasted for more than a month. The war with Hamas in Gaza is in fact the only war in which Israel has been involved for nearly six months.
