The war’s advocates would say its second goal is no less legitimate: to reduce the regime’s ability to threaten its neighbours. Again, who could blame Israel for wanting to defang an enemy that has sought not merely its defeat but, explicitly, its elimination? Iran hoped to make good on that threat by arming and funding the proxies – Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis – that formed its much-vaunted “ring of fire” around Israel. After 7 October 2023, Israel resolved not to wait for its enemies to strike, but to rob them in advance of the means to do so. That, say Israel’s defenders, is why it is bent on destroying Iran’s ballistic and nuclear capacity and hitting Hezbollah in Lebanon.