After battling Iran’s allies across the region following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Netanyahu has turned his attention to what he describes as the “head of the octopus,” with an unprecedented and open-ended military offensive against Iran and its nuclear program .

Iran fired hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel in two attacks last year in response to Israeli strikes, rattling the Israeli public but causing only modest damage. Tehran has vowed retaliation for Israel's early morning attack on Friday on Iranian military and nuclear facilities that killed several top commanders.