14-06-2025
Israel-Iran conflict explained: 7 books you need to read now
Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities on June 13, 2025—codenamed Operation Rising Lion—have pushed the Middle East to the edge of all-out conflict. The attack, which killed two senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders and targeted uranium enrichment sites, triggered an immediate Iranian retaliation with over 100 drones. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed Israel would face a 'bitter fate,' while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the strikes necessary to counter an 'existential threat.'
This escalation didn't happen overnight. For decades, Israel and Iran have waged a shadow war—cyberattacks, assassinations, proxy battles—while Tehran inched closer to nuclear capability. Now, with US-Iran nuclear talks hanging by a thread and the IAEA accusing Iran of secret nuclear activities, the region stands at a crossroads.
To understand how we got here—and where this dangerous confrontation might lead—these seven books provide critical insight into the history, strategy, and hidden battles behind one of the world's most volatile rivalries.
This meticulously researched book unveils the clandestine warfare between Israel and Iran since the 2006 Lebanon War. Katz (a veteran journalist) and Hendel (a former Israeli official) detail covert operations—from cyberattacks on Iran's nuclear facilities to assassinations of scientists—and analyze Israel's strategy to counter Iran's regional proxies like Hezbollah. The authors draw on exclusive interviews with intelligence and military leaders, offering a gripping account of how this 'shadow war' remains largely unseen yet profoundly consequential. A must-read for understanding modern asymmetric conflict.
Ronen Bergman, Israel's foremost investigative journalist, compiles over 1,000 interviews with spies, politicians, and militants to expose the 30-year covert struggle between Iran, Israel, and the U.S. From Hezbollah's rise to Israel's assassination campaigns, Bergman reveals shocking operations, including the Stuxnet cyberattack and the 1992 Buenos Aires bombing. The book's granular detail and narrative flair make it both an authoritative history and a thriller-like exposé of espionage and counterterrorism.
Focused on Israel's efforts to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions, this book leverages leaked Mossad documents and insider accounts to dissect Israel's multi-pronged campaign: sabotage, diplomacy, and targeted killings. Bob and Evyatar explore dilemmas like the risks of a preemptive strike and U.S.-Israel tensions over strategy. Timely and incisive, Target Tehran is a playbook for understanding Israel's national security calculus.
To grasp Iran's adversarial stance toward Israel, Menashri's scholarly work traces the ideological shifts after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The book examines how clerical rule transformed Iran's domestic and foreign policies, emphasizing anti-Zionism as a pillar of its identity. Menashri analyzes factional rivalries, economic pressures, and the regime's use of proxy wars to export its revolution—a vital primer on Iran's motivations.
This biography recounts the life of Habib Elghanayan, a Jewish industrialist executed in post-revolutionary Iran. Through his story, the book illuminates the rise and fall of Iran's Jewish community, once thriving under the Shah but persecuted after 1979. Elghanayan's tragic fate mirrors the rupture in Israel-Iran relations, offering a human lens on historical upheaval.
Yeroushalmi's anthology traces 2,700 years of Jewish life in Persia, highlighting coexistence and persecution under Islamic rule. It explores how Iran's Jews navigated loyalty to their homeland and ties to Israel, especially after 1979. This cultural history underscores the community's resilience and its symbolic role in the Israel-Iran divide.
While fictional, Silva's spy thriller featuring Israeli operative Gabriel Allon mirrors real-world tensions. The plot—centered on art theft and illicit nuclear deals—echoes Iran's smuggling networks and Israel's counteroperations. A page-turning supplement to the heavier nonfiction works.
