Hawzah News Agency- The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's key economic arteries, functioning as a strategic lever in political-military equations with immense operational potential. Israeli reports, both before and after the Islamic Revolution, have repeatedly emphasized this reality, with Israeli media even prior to the Revolution identifying Iran's ability to exercise control over the Strait as a key component of its power.
The monitoring and detailed assessment of a nation's military capabilities—often carried out by various entities—is sometimes aimed at competition, balancing military strength, recalibrating political equations, or facilitating mutual arms development.
Historical evidence shows that before the Islamic Revolution, the Zionist regime viewed Iran as a latent potential threat and a regional rival in the Middle East. Consequently, it continuously monitored Iran's political conduct and military capabilities.
Documents currently held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Pahlavi era—comprising translations of Israeli media reports and broadcasts by the usurping Zionist regime—substantiate this claim.
The fabricated entity of Israel, despite its close ties and extensive cooperation with the Pahlavi regime prior to the victory of the Islamic Revolution, harbored deep concerns over Iran's growing regional military power—viewing it as a potential threat. As such, Iran's military and economic capacity to control key energy chokepoints—such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait—consistently served as fodder for political reporting in Israeli media, particularly its television networks.
On December 26, 1975, the Political Eighth Bureau delivered a Persian translation of an Israeli program addressing Iran's military expansion to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Israel's apprehensions—despite its close relationship with the Pahlavi regime—are clearly evident in this program, indicating that Iran's growing power was perceived as being at odds with the Zionist entity's expansionist ambitions in the region.
The report stated: "Iran considers itself the 'big brother' to its neighbors and is strengthening itself to be able to operate over long distances. Iran's navy is being reinforced through the purchase of warships from Britain, and its air force has been substantially bolstered by acquiring advanced aircraft—now making it the most powerful air force in the Persian Gulf. Iran is also engaged in constructing a nuclear reactor, a step that paves the way toward attaining atomic weapons."
The Israeli-made report went on to highlight Iran's strategic capacity to control key waterways: "One of the matters to which Iran attaches great importance is the security of oil routes. Iran seized Abu Musa to monitor the maritime route, reconstructed Bandar Abbas, and reinforced its forces in the Strait of Hormuz. In Oman, Iranian paratroopers are fighting to support the country's leader [...] Iran is reinforcing its forces in Bab el-Mandeb; it has deployed naval forces for the United Nations in the Sinai [...] and has stationed military forces in the Golan Heights."
References to Iran's operational reach—both near and far—and its capacity to control vital economic arteries such as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz reveal Israel's deep-seated fear of Iran leveraging its dominance over the Strait to influence the price of energy commodities such as oil.
Moreover, the report reflects a palpable anxiety over Iran's strategic depth. Yet, before the Revolution, the Zionist regime regarded Iran as a potential rather than active threat—a characterization substantiated by the statements of Israeli officials at the time.
The translated report by the Political Eighth Bureau further elaborates: "Questions were posed to Mrs. Yanel Vered, head of the Middle East Department at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She stated that Iran, like any other country, seeks good relations with its neighbors. Iran has recognized Israel de facto, and the Shah has stated that they will not close the Israeli economic office in Tehran, asserting that Israel is a reality. Generally, Iran abstains in UN votes. For instance, it abstained on the motion to suspend Israel, but on the question of Zionism, although it voted in favor of the Arab proposal, the Shah stated that this vote did not equate Zionism with racism. Rather, Iran voted in favor out of sympathy for the Arabs."
In any case, Iran—by virtue of its vast territorial expanse, military capabilities, and capacity to exert power and control over strategic waterways—remains a major player in the Middle East. This reality, both before and after the Islamic Revolution, has consistently constrained Israel's expansion. Consequently, Iran—regardless of its system of government—has been, and continues to be, perceived by Israel as an obstacle and a threat to its expansionist ambitions due to the aforementioned strategic capacities.
Source: Islamic Revolution Documentation Center Information Base
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