Images: AP/Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyIran has patiently built up its “axis of resistance” over 20 years. This alliance among Iran, the Syrian regime, Hezbollah, Hamas and other radical Sunni and Shiite Arab militias is an expression of the Islamic Republic’s vibrant anti-Western ethos. It’s also a means by which the clerical regime can overcome the enormous damage the Syrian civil war has inflicted on its standing among Sunni Muslims. Fortunately for the clerical regime, its Palestinian proxy in Gaza will be hard to destroy. The farther the Israel Defense Forces advance, the more pressure will mount on the Islamic Republic to expand the conflict.

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Persons: David Asman, David Petraeus, Mark Kelly Iran, It’s, Tehran can’t Organizations: Israel Defense Forces Locations: Iran, Tehran, Gaza, Republic, Jerusalem