Iran-Israel war: The rise and risks of 'hybrid warfare'

The Iran-Israel war of June 2025 has become a textbook example of “hybrid warfare”, which are not just fought with missiles and bombs, but with bots, spin, and shadowy proxies. 

The 12-day clash was a masterclass in this messy mix: think missiles, yes — but also cyber sabotage, drone embeds, viral disinformation, secret assassinations, economic threats and militias firing rockets from the sidelines.

It’s no longer just tanks vs tanks, a relic of the past two World Wars. It’s now hackers vs. hospitals, leaked audio vs. morale, and drone swarms vs. deniability. 

In this kind of fight, the battlefield is everywhere — online, underground, and inside your head.

The conflict is also a wake-up call: future wars may not start with boots on the ground.

Israel’s attack and Iran’s counter-strikes signified a major escalation in “hybrid warfare” tactics. 

Four lessons

Following are four lessons, supported by recent analyses of the conflict:

#1. Hybrid warfare: Missiles, drones, cyber attacks, sabotage, disinformation: 

In a high-stakes 12-day showdown, Israel’s Operation Rising Lion unleashed 200+ jets and 330+ precision bombs, and drones pounding Iranian targets. 

Israel reportedly killed 14 Iranian scientists and nuclear engineers, and nine of 13 top Iranian commanders in an  unprecedented attack.

Iran unleashed a massive counterstrike in several waves, reportedly launching about 1,000 missiles, rockets, and drones as part of “Operation True Promise III”, hitting military installations and urban infrastructure in cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. 

It proves both sides can strike fast and deep. 

But this war wasn’t just about firepower. 

Although most missiles were reportedly intercepted by Israel’s air defenses, many struck, wounding more than 1,000 Israelis, and killing 28 (mostly civilians) from missile and drone strikes, as per New York Times.

Cyberattacks crippled radars, disrupted hospitals, and glitched city systems. Mossad ran a secret drone base inside Iran, and the war kicked off with the suspected assassination of an Iranian general.

Psychological warfare took center stage: Israel leaked a call giving an Iranian general “12 hours to escape,” while Iran flooded social media with fiery images. 

Add in the public domain, threats (like Iran’s bid to close the Strait of Hormuz) and diplomatic chess, and you've got modern hybrid warfare — where missiles fly, but minds and markets are targets too.

#2. Strategic missiles: deterrence and political signaling tools

Iran’s decision to respond directly from its territory — rather than through proxies — signalled a shift in how states may use missiles not just for war, but for political messaging and calibrated retaliation.

Iran displayed as much in April 2024 when it launcheds 300 missiles, drones towards Israel, nearly two weeks after the deadly strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria.

“This was not a war of conquest, but a messaging war. By using precision strikes and warning regional states beforehand, Iran intended to send a deterrent signal to both Israel and the United States,” wrote Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, Senior Research Fellow at RUSI. (Royal United Services Institute, Briefing Paper, May 2024)

Lesson: Strategic missile launches are now part of a broader toolkit for deterrence, conveying red lines and shaping adversary behaviour without necessarily waging an “all-out war”.

#3. Missile warfare: Multi-domain and decentralised

The conflict also revealed how missile operations now span air, land, cyber, and space domains. 

From using satellite intelligence to target systems, to hacking attempts on command networks, future conflicts will likely involve deeply integrated missile campaigns.

“We’re witnessing a shift to networked, multi-domain warfare, where missile units are embedded in a digital ‘kill chain’ stretching across geographies,” observed Dr. Fabian Hinz of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). 

“What’s terrifying is that these capabilities are proliferating — non-nuclear missile warfare is no longer the monopoly of superpowers.”
(IISS, Missile Threat Assessment 2024)

Lesson: The barrier to entry for advanced missile warfare is falling. Precision-guided weapons, once exclusive to great powers, are now accessible to middle and even smaller states.

#4. Saturation strikes can overwhelm even advanced defences

A Washington Post analysis shows that Israel’s air-defense shield — including Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow systems — successfully intercepted "over 90%" of the more than 1,000 missiles, rockets, and drones fired by Iran during the exchange.

The Economic Times, however, noted that while Iron Dome was effective at neutralising the bulk of Iran’s attacks, the strain of sustained, high-volume salvos did “raise critical concerns” about its ability to sustain performance in a prolonged conflict.

In the previous missile exchanges (April 2024), Iran demonstrated its capacity for "saturation attacks", deploying dozens of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones in coordinated waves.

“This was the largest missile and drone assault in modern Middle Eastern history,” noted Michael Eisenstadt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“Even with Israel’s multilayered defenses — Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow — the system was pushed to its operational limits. Quantity, not just quality, matters in modern missile warfare.”
(Washington Institute, April 2024 report)

Lesson: No missile defense system is impenetrable. In a high-volume conflict, strategic depth and redundancy are essential to maintaining resilience.

Takeaways:

• The recent Iran-Israel war challenges long-standing assumptions about deterrence, defence, and the boundaries between conventional and strategic weapons. 

• The 12-day clash revealed a volatile blend of missile and drone swarms, cyberattacks, and info wars — marking a new era where modern conflicts are fought across physical and digital frontlines simultaneously.

• Nations must now increasingly plan not just for war, but for a “hybrid war” — which could forever change warfare and the face the of the earth.

• War has a way of forcing the world to think hard about the bitter fruits and deep wounds inflicted by deadly rhetoric and open conflict.