As missile strikes escalate and direct warfare replaces proxy battles, here’s a detailed comparison of Iran and Israel’s military strengths.

Israel and Iran have opened a new chapter in their long history of conflict. Israel launched a major attack with strikes early Friday that set off explosions in the Iranian capital of Tehran.

The targeted assassinations mark one of the most significant developments in the long-running shadow war between the two regional rivals, sending shockwaves across the Middle East and prompting global concern over the potential for a broader conflict.

For quite some time now, Iran has pledged to destroy Israel while it supported regional groups that have declared Israel their enemy. Israel, on its part, views Iran as an existential threat and has vowed to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb.

American air-defence systems and naval assets played a key role in helping Israel intercept a barrage of ballistic missiles fired by Iran on Friday, a.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was long considered Iran’s first line of defense in case of a war with Israel.