Comparing conflicts: Israel’s strike on Iran and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

In the echo chambers of social media, comparisons between Israel’s strike on Iran and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine are gaining traction. Why does the West accept Israel’s narrative of a pre-emptive strike while rejecting Moscow’s claim that its “special military operation” was a response to NATO’s encroachment on Russia’s strategic buffer zone?

If Russia is deemed the aggressor in Ukraine, why isn’t Israel similarly condemned for its actions against Iran? To some, this discrepancy reeks of Western hypocrisy, a sentiment echoed across the blogosphere.

Yet, a closer examination reveals critical distinctions that challenge this simplistic narrative.

Iran’s theocratic regime, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has long vowed to destroy Israel – a cornerstone of its ideological and geopolitical stance since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. This is not mere rhetoric. Iran has pursued its aim through proxy warfare, arming and supporting groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Hamas’s 7 October 2023, attack and Hezbollah’s rocket barrages from Lebanon sought to destabilise Israel, though both groups were significantly weakened by Israeli operations in Gaza and Lebanon by late 2024.

Iran’s nuclear ambitions further escalate the threat. Despite Tehran’s insistence that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, Western intelligence and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports suggest otherwise.

By June 2025, Iran was alarmingly close to nuclear weapons capability, possessing enough enriched uranium to produce multiple warheads within weeks, though it had not yet mastered weaponization or missile integration. Israel’s Operation Rising Lion on 13 June targeted Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure to neutralise this perceived existential threat. By framing the strikes as pre-emptive, Israel sought to justify its actions under international law, maintain domestic and global support, and seize the initiative in a volatile conflict.

In contrast, Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 lacks a comparable justification. Moscow’s claim that Ukraine’s potential NATO membership posed a threat is dubious. NATO, a defensive alliance, had no plans to invade Russia, and key members were wary of admitting Ukraine to avoid provoking Moscow.

If Ukraine posed a threat, it was not military but ideological: its pursuit of a prosperous, democratic future aligned with the European Union. A thriving, democratic Ukraine could inspire Russians to question their own stagnant, authoritarian reality – a prospect that was unacceptable for the Kremlin.

Both conflicts involve ambitions of regime change, but their contexts differ starkly. Russian President Vladimir Putin, likely misled by flawed intelligence, believed Ukrainians would welcome Russian forces as liberators, paving the way for a puppet regime. This gamble failed spectacularly. Israel, by contrast, appears to believe regime change in Iran is feasible. On 13 June Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Iranians to rise against their “weak” regime, claiming the next day that “senior leaders in Iran are packing their bags.” U.S. intelligence, cited by CNN, suggests Israel sees regime change as a long-term goal, with the strikes intended to destabilise Tehran’s leadership.

Yet, Netanyahu’s optimism may be misplaced. Massive Israeli attacks could ignite a surge of Iranian nationalism, rallying support for the regime. History shows that external aggression often strengthens, rather than weakens, embattled governments.

What unites these conflicts is the universal suffering of innocents. A missile-struck apartment building in Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut or Odesa, yields hauntingly similar images of devastation. Beyond the strategic calculations and ideological divides, this is the sickening image of what wars have in common.

Caption: Israeli rescue teams work at the scene where Iranian ballistic missiles hit residential buildings in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, Israel, 15 June 2025. According to emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA), paramedics have pronounced the death of a woman around 60 years old and provided medical care to a total of 65 injured. [EPA/ATEF SAFADI]

Updated: June 16, 2025 - 10:25