Domino effect: Does Iran-Israel showdown upend regional balance? As Israel ponders its response to Iran, as allies urge restraint, as battles targeting Tehran proxies rage in Lebanon, let's begin with a simple fact of geography: Iran and Israel don’t share a common border. Since October 8, Tehran has been touting a so-called axis of resistance; what Israelis brand a ring of fire, with Iranian-backed militants in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and Syria ... to which the US would add Iraq.