This past Saturday, Israel shot down Hezbollah drones targeting an Israeli gas rig in a disputed drilling area in the Mediterranean Sea. The attempted attack comes as Lebanon and Israel, with the United States as mediator, are negotiating an agreement on drilling rights in the area. The Lebanese government has voiced concerns about the extraction of gas in Israel’s Karish field. Though the U.S. is aiming to foster economic and political benefits for both nations, Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist group based in Lebanon, perceives a potential deal as harmful to Lebanese and Iranian interests.
The drone incident is just one example of Iran’s wider strategy of combating Israel both militarily and economically. The destruction of a gas rig could have harmed the Israeli economy and the economies of countries that purchase gas from Israel. But to Iran’s string of military and intelligence failures can now be added the thwarting of drone attacks by superior Israeli military technology.
This incident is also a reflection of the regional conflict between Iran and the new Middle East coalition of Israel and Sunni Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Increased strategic cooperation among Iran’s foes is intended to disrupt Iranian military and political influence and reach in the world. Iran was previously able to take advantage of a more fractured Middle East. Historically, Sunni Arab nations including Saudi Arabia castigated Israel and funded anti-Israel terrorist groups because they cast Israel as an oppressor of the Palestinian people. However, with the recent developments of the Abraham Accords and greater economic partnerships, the Palestinian issue has ceased to be a focus, and political conflicts have evaporated as these nations turn their energies to coping with the threat of Iran as their primary regional rival.
The destruction of Hezbollah drones is only the most recent Iranian military failure. A week before this incident, Iran’s failed assassination attempt of Israeli citizens in Turkey hurt Tehran’s diplomatic relations with one of their only allies in the region. Though the ongoing Iranian threat should not be underestimated, failures and mistakes by the regime and its proxies are piling up.