The high costs of a direct military confrontation with Iran have deterred any possible Israeli act of aggression, a top military commander said, citing Tehran's growing regional clout.
"The Israeli regime has believed the Islamic Republic's power and will avoid testing it as it will not be able to manage the confrontation with Iran and its costs," Major General Gholam Ali Rashid was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying on Sunday.
Tensions between Israel and Iran have hit a new high following the unprecedented military clashes inside Syria in February.
The fighting has fueled speculations about a potential all-out war in the Middle East.
Iran and its allied Lebanese Hezbollah group, which Israel regards as an enemy, are engaged in a civil war in Syria that has dragged on for almost seven years.
They, along with Russia, back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his fight against terrorist groups seeking his ouster, some of which in turn enjoy the support of a US-led coalition.
The latest tensions in mid-February came after Israel dispatched at least eight planes in response to what it said was the incursion of an allegedly Iranian-made drone into airspace under its occupation.
One of the planes, an Israeli F-16, was hit by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile and crashed in northern Israel, Reuters reported. Both pilots suffered injuries.
In retaliation, Israel launched an air raid that hit a number of Syrian targets.
Iran's involvement in the protracted war, which it says is legitimate and solely advisory, has alarmed the Tel Aviv regime by boosting the Hezbollah movement and other Iran-backed forces deployed near Israel.
New Phase
Hezbollah has said the downed plane signals a new phase of a strategy aimed at restricting Israel's access to Syrian airspace.
Iran does not recognize the Israeli entity and has consistently condemned its occupation of Palestine.
US President Donald Trump has maintained close ties with Israel while directing heavy criticism at Iran, repeatedly attacking the terms of its nuclear deal with major powers, negotiated during the previous US administration.
Tehran denies Trump's accusations that its regional activities are destabilizing and has rejected his demand to rein in those activities.
Trump's recent decision to upend decades of US policy by recognizing Beit-ul-Moqaddas (Jerusalem) as Israel's capital and moving the US embassy there has drawn vast international condemnation and complicated a Palestinian-Israeli peace effort.
In his latest round of anti-Iran rhetoric last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed Trump's allegations, claiming that the Islamic Republic is responsible for "darkness descending" on the Middle East by building an anti-Israel bloc.
"Darkness is descending on our region… We must stop Iran, we will stop Iran," Netanyahu told the annual pro-Israel AIPAC policy conference in Washington.
