Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr | India Needs To Urgently Review Israel’s Current Military Power

The US-Israel war against Iran hurt the Indian economy, and this is evident from the government’s assessments as well as the remarks of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting last month. The war hasn’t triggered a crisis or a sharp slide in the growth figures, though the estimate for 2026-27 was reduced to 6.6 per cent, compared to 7.8 per cent in 2025-26.

But there is another aspect Indian experts must assess, though it doesn’t directly impact the country. The strategy and security pundits must re-examine the military aspect of the months-long war to understand the balance of power in a region of utmost economic and strategic importance to India.

The war hasn’t yet ended, and it can’t be deemed to have ended until US and Iran reach a final agreement in Switzerland, with Pakistan and Qatar playing mediators. But the hostilities that lasted between February 28 and April 6 do reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the combatants.

It was evident from the start that Israel can’t take on Iran on its own, and needed the help of the US. This was proved in June 2025 when Israel’s bombers hit Iran’s nuclear installations, and President Trump said Israel couldn’t do it alone and needed America’s B-52 bombers to complete the job. When the B-52s joined the fray, they damaged the installations a little more, but not much.

It was no surprise when the second attack was planned in February, the US and Israel decided to do it together. But this time too, the results didn’t match the intent. Iran still seems to possess enriched uranium. Mr Trump wants Iran to surrender it. In one of his exaggerated outbursts, Mr Trump declared that the Americans would enter Iran and whisk away the enriched uranium. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertions imply that the nuclear threat Iran posed to Israel has been countered by the attacks, though he doesn’t claim the enriched uranium has been blocked. Of course, the claim was that Iran was not far away from making the nuclear bomb, and somehow the US-Israel attacks on Iran have disabled Iran from doing so. One of the terms of the MoU is that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear regulator, should resume the inspection of the Iranian nuclear facilities. The contradictions in the Trump and Netanyahu statements are quite explicit.

US vice-president J.D. Vance, in a media interview, has made it plain that Israel is not in a position to take on bigger countries, though he did not specifically mention Iran. He reminded the hawks in Mr Netanyahu’s government that Israel has a population of just nine million people, and it can’t pick up wars with all in the neighbourhood. It was a clear US reminder that Israel can’t fight Iran without America by its side; and that the US would not fight Iran just for the sake of Israel’s national interests. The US has to reckon with its own national interests in fighting Iran, and it does not lend to a war-to-the-finish. The US would only wage war to compel Iran to come to the negotiating table. Also, the US can’t overlook its own economic interests. The rise in gas prices at the pump in America is something that no administration can ignore.

While the US joined hands with Israel for a war with Iran, the policy motivations were different for the two. Israel thus can’t look to the US for unqualified support in its war against Iran. Are there enough security compulsions for Israel to counter Iran’s military buildup?

There seem to be sufficient reasons to do so. Iran’s support for Hezbollah in Lebanon poses a danger to northern Israel. Israel can handle the Hezbollah challenge without help from the US, but the military price it must pay for it is too high. Israeli soldiers occupying Lebanon does not ensure peace. And it is the same in Gaza. Israel has not been able to overwhelm Hamas in Gaza. So, Israel’s overwhelming military power against Hezbollah and Hamas is not sufficient to make Israel safe. The point is clear. Israel cannot hope to resolve its security concerns through the military option alone.

So, Israel can tackle Hamas and Hezbollah in a manner of speaking, because of its military superiority, but its military power is not enough to check the security threat posed by Iran.

The general perception in India’s security and strategy circles is that Israel is a pre-eminent military power in the region, and that it is even an exemplary one. But the war in Gaza since October 7, 2023 and its war with Iran and with Hezbollah in Lebanon indicate the limits of Israel’s military prowess. The assumption has been that Israel can militarily overrun all its neighbours because of its technologically advanced war machine. These wars don’t bear out the presumption. India can benefit from an Israeli defence partnership in importing technologically advanced equipment.

But it would be wiser to be clear-eyed that Israel is not the monarch of all it surveys on the battlefield. At the political level, the ruling BJP has been starry-eyed about Israel for ideological reasons. It is time for ideologues in the party to re-examine the Middle East situation realistically. They should come around to the view that Israel is not the invincible military power it has projected itself to be. The BJP should not feel exhilarated because of its partnership with Israel based on its military strength. It would be useful to pay attention to the democratic temper inside Israel.

Many people have been scathing in their criticism of the Benjamin Netanyahu government’s security failure for the Hamas attack of October 7, his handling of the hostage issue, and his pyrrhic war in Gaza.