Proxy Warfare and Strategic Divergence: Comparison between Conflicting Approaches of Iran and Israel to Warring in the Shadows in the Middle East

Abstract

The contemporary Middle East portrays an amazing picture of the application of proxy warfare which, in fact, has emerged there as a key tool of reciprocal, indirect statecraft allowing hostile states to shuffle conflict zones, pursue strategic goals, and project influence without resorting to direct military discourse. The June 2025 Iran-Israel war revealed the conflicting views of both states regarding geostrategic application of non-state actors and was a reflection of their different geopolitical goals, strategic philosophies, and ideological underpinnings. Since decades, Iran's foreign policy lie in the export of revolutionary doctrine and the development of transnational Shiite militias, such as the Popular Mobilization Forces and Hezbollah, which act as outreach vehicles across the region whereas Israel, in contrast, follows a technologically advanced and security-oriented approach and prefers using intelligence networks, secret alliances, and precise operations to neutralize threats and preserve its strategic edge. In this background, the instant study comparatively examines the motivations, methods of operation, and long-term effects of proxy engagement by both states and highlights the disparities in their definitions of success, the legal ambiguities surrounding state-proxy relationships, and the moral conundrums raised by exposing civilians to indirect conflict. It concludes that the complex and dynamic nature of proxy warfare is causing threat not only to the regional peace at large but would have the potential to disrupt global political order as well if the main reasons of hostility and friction in the Middle East remained unattended and unresolved.