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........

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