The group is one of the most powerful and shadowy arms of Iran’s military, and it has long been on the front line of a shadow conflict with Israel.

For Israel, the objective was to degrade Iran’s nuclear capabilities and demonstrate unequivocally that any threat to its existence would be met with overwhelming force. For Iran, retaliation served not only as a defence of national pride but also as a signal to regional allies and adversaries alike that it remains capable of responding to aggression.

Israel and Iran have opened a new chapter in their long history of conflict. Israel launched a major attack with strikes early Friday that set off explosions in the Iranian capital of Tehran.

Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear and military sites have pushed the long-simmering rivalry into open warfare, with Tehran retaliating and hitting key Israeli cities. With the US trying to balance diplomacy and deterrence,

The strikes, which Israel say targeted nuclear and military facilities, mark a new chapter in the long-standing tensions between the two nations. Iranian state media reported that the leader of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and two leading nuclear scientists were killed in the attack.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was long considered Iran’s first line of defense in case of a war with Israel

Israeli forces seal entrances of several cities and villages in occupied Palestinian territory amid conflict with Iran.