With Donald J. Trump two weeks away from returning to the White House, Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) fear that recent setbacks could open a Pandora’s box.

Axar.az reports that, citing Times of israel, this was stated in an article written by Dr. James M.Dorsey.

Israel’s puncturing of Swiss cheese-sized holes in the Iran-backed Axis of Resistance has upended the Islamic Republic’s forward defence strategy, raised questions about the future of the IRGC’s Quds Force, its foreign operations arm, and risks turning Iran into a tradeable geopolitical commodity.

In addition, Israeli retaliatory strikes severely damaged Iran’s anti-air defences, making the country more vulnerable to attack.

Syria and Hezbollah constituted the Axis’ backbone because they shared borders with Israel, which allowed them to retaliate for potential Israeli strikes against Iran. The loss of Syria and the weakening of Hezbollah leaves the Houthis, alongside Iran itself, as the only credible antidotes to Israel and US influence in the region.

For Iran, Israel’s puncturing of the Axis puts a higher premium on other pillars of the Islamic Republic’s defence strategy, including its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes. Iran is mulling weaponising its nuclear programme to compensate for the loss, for all practical purposes, of the Axis as its forward defence line.

Israeli and Western officials fear that Russia could award Iran for its support in the Ukraine war by supplying it with technology to utilise enriched uranium in a nuclear warhead.