My personal journey into understanding why Iran is so intensely hostile toward Israel began when I studied at the Islamic College in London, which teaches the Twelver Shiʿa tradition. My time there was unique, as it gave me a rare opportunity as a non-Muslim to learn from Muslim and Shiʿa scholars and to listen carefully to their perspectives. During that time, I came to see more clearly how religion—specifically Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolutionary, Twelver Shiʿa–influenced messianic theology—shapes the Iranian regime’s perception of reality.

While pursuing my studies, I came to my own conclusion that the animosity of Iran toward Israel is not just political, but religious, which is fundamentally different and is not well understood in the West. And while the religious nature of Israel’s elimination in Iran is often either denied or downplayed by political and academic analysts, understanding Khomeini’s Shia end-of-days ideology, is nonetheless key. Political discourse is a side-effect of the Khomeini’s worldview, which is dictated by his eschatology. Appeasement and compromise with the Iranian regime will not accomplish the elimination of its desires to obliterate Israel since the regime views the destruction of Israel as a precursor to the arrival of the Mahdi (Twelfth Imam), as revealed by Shiite texts.

My intent in this article is to give the wider, non-expert world an insider’s understanding of the importance of religion in Iranian politics.

Hamas’s role in governing Gaza has left it with both practical and political responsibilities. Yet for the Islamists in charge, the imperatives of domestic self-preservation and geopolitical maneuvering coexist with another overriding priority: the pursuit of ideological aims. In this regard, they ignore—or perhaps exploit—the fact that Iran’s war against Israel is not merely political but profoundly religious. In the late Ayatollah Khomeini’s Twelver-influenced Shiʿi revolutionary theology, promotes a worldview that elevates death, martyrdom, and chaos as instruments of divine purpose.

Most wars can be halted through political pressure, negotiation, or deterrence. But this conflict is grounded in a dogma that sanctifies destruction and bloodshed as necessary steps toward redemption. Within this framework, Israel’s destruction is not simply a strategic objective; it is portrayed as a sacred duty. Iran will therefore persist in waging this war because its leaders believe they are carrying out God’s work, and that only through Israel’s elimination will redemption arrive. Until the West grasps this theological dimension, its response to Iran will remain inadequate—and dangerously naïve.

Iran is waging a theological war against Israel: the flourishing Jewish state in the majority-Muslim Middle East. And, according to their beliefs, destroying Israel is a prerequisite for completing their divine mission.

The Iranian regime considers their nation to be chosen by Allah to prepare the world for the coming of their messiah, the Twelfth Imam (whom they call the Mahdi) who will establish justice in the world. They believe that catastrophic world chaos and the defeat of their enemies, especially Israel, are prerequisites for this event. Their murder and mayhem is not only a means to an end; according to their religion it is an end in itself, and their foreign policy is guided by the desired impending apocalypse. This makes them a most dangerous foe, since there is no chance of negotiating with them or resolving the conflict peacefully; peace and justice will come only through their own martyrdom, in their view.

The leader for whom Iran prepares the way is the Twelfth Imam, or the Mahdi. Twelver Shia Muslims believe that the Mahdi disappeared in the 9th century and was placed into “divine occultation” (ghaybah), where he will remain until he reappears to declare victory over all the world’s Islamic infidels and establish a global Shia Islamic kingdom. Chaos and war, however, are necessary to bring his return.

Iranian religious leaders confirm that it is Iran’s role to hasten his appearance and set the stage for it to happen. In contrast to other faiths in which the appearance of peaceful days will bring forth the coming of a messiah, in Twelver Shia tradition, blood must be shed, chaos must reign, and the enemies of Islam must be vanquished.

Israel is declared to be the “obstacle” to the return of the Mahdi. Iranian officials frequently cite horrific beliefs, like the notion that the Mahdi won’t return until the “last drop of Jewish blood” is spilled. (That belief does not come from the Quran.) The regime has used it to galvanize its people and its proxies to make war against Israel.

The founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, designated Iran the “Vanguard of the Mahdi,” and declared it to have a special mission to pave the way for the second coming. This is not a classical Shia belief. In other words, he considered the 1979 revolution to have made Iran the center of God’s plans and the Iranian people the chosen people of God. His successor, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaks about the Iranian armed forces and terrorist proxies as tools for achieving divine prophecy, and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) considers itself to be the Mahdi’s army-in-waiting, aggressively fomenting chaos and challenging the “Great Satan” Israel.

To Iran’s leadership, Israel represents far more than a political adversary—it is a spiritual challenge that must be overcome to fulfill divine prophecy. In Twelver Shia theology, the world must be conquered and ruled by Muslims for the Mahdi to return, hence death to American and Israel, and the existence of a thriving Jewish state in land previously ruled by Muslims flies in the face of this ideal.

From the Iranian regime’s perspective, Israel’s strength, democracy, influence, and tourism industry challenge the country’s vision of Islamic supremacy in the Middle East. Israel’s continued existence upsets the timeline for the end of the world to which Iran’s leadership is so attached; Israel’s destruction is a prerequisite. Every attempt by Iran to attack Israel or damage the country militarily is intended to undermine Israel’s capacity to survive until it is destroyed.

If Israel is eliminated, the logic goes, Iran will have removed the last remaining obstacle delaying the Mahdi’s return. This is why Iran’s leaders believe that they must “wipe Israel off the map.” Iran’s vision for the end of the world has very direct consequences for its military strategy, which in large part depends on proxies. An Iranian military attack against Israel poses significant logistical challenges because of the relatively large distance between the two countries. Iran relies on proxies to act as its pawns and surround Israel.

The proxies were in place to foment violence and bloodshed, as required in order to instigate the return of the Mahdi.

Perhaps the scariest part of Iran’s apocalyptic belief system that is not deterred by mutually assured destruction is Iran’s feverish desire to obtain nuclear weapons. Whereas other states see nuclear weapons as tools for deterrence, Iran’s regime believes nuclear weapons will allow them to destroy Israel, and possibly the world, facilitating the necessary chaos for the arrival of the Twelfth Imam.

Iranian political and military officials, including the late Ahmadinejad, have claimed again and again that Israel must be “wiped off the map.” These are not empty threats. It is their religious obligation to do so. Should Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, the world will be dealing with a regime willing to use it as an act of obedience to God.

Iran’s genocidal dreams about Israel cannot be dismissed as rhetoric, political bluster, or even calculated decisions that can be altered through international engagement and rational discourse. It is a religiously motivated war, and until the world recognizes this, containment of Iran will fail. This is not a regime that can be negotiated with or appeased.

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This article has been rewritten from an article I wrote. The Eschatological Vision Behind Iran’s Hatred of Israel: A Shia Messianic War. https://www.4timorr.org/the-eschatological-vision-behind-irans-hatred-of-israel-a-shia-messianic-war/

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