Al-Qaeda’s leadership may not have been happy about Islamic State’s declaration of a new caliphate, but it now wishes to use the current war between IS and the U.S.-led coalition as a smokescreen while it plans its next move. Fortunately for Israel, it is not (yet) al-Qaeda’s top priority. But al-Qaeda is particularly dangerous because it wants to reclaim its stolen thunder, contrary to what some U.S. officials have claimed.

[Al-Qaeda head Ayman al]-Zawahiri . . . is striving to leverage international focus on IS in order to divert attention from his organization’s preparations to take advantage of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of this year. Al-Qaeda . . . also used the Syrian theater to identify and recruit new volunteers with suitable credentials, in order to expand its manpower and train operatives for future operations. That was apparently, the purpose of the “Khorasan Army,” whose existence and objectives were recently unveiled, following the bombardment of its camp in Syria.

These preparations are also reflected in the establishment of the “Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent” (AQIS) organization, whose founding was announced by al-Zawahiri at the beginning of September this year. The declared purpose of the organization is to reinforce jihadist activity in Pakistan, India, Burma, and Bangladesh. According to both official reports from Pakistan and the organization’s own announcements . . . the new organization has already tried to carry out an ambitious and daring attack designed to damage a Pakistani warship and to attack an American destroyer. Action on this scale, had it succeeded as planned, would have caused great damage and cost many lives, in addition to harming the prestige of the fleets of the targeted countries. Furthermore, the planning of such attacks indicates that al-Qaeda is not resting on its laurels, and refutes the assessments by senior American administration officials that al-Qaeda is a spent force.

Taking stock of the events of the last year, including the recent battering Israel has dealt Hizballah, Ben-Dror Yemini believes it is time for the Jewish state to take an even more significant step:

The Iranian axis of evil has attacked Israel from Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, and Syria—and a significant part of the world has aligned with the dark and murderous forces. A year in which even the leaders of countries expected to lead the free world, who should oppose the axis of evil, are imposing arms embargoes on Israel.

With or without the U.S., Israel must destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. . . . Because if this regime is not eliminated, if it gains the capability, if it [obtains] nuclear weapons, it will destroy Israel. It will commit genocide on millions. Oil prices will rise? Let them rise. Our lives are more important.

The Middle East needs peace and rehabilitation. They will not come so long as the ayatollahs rule Iran. Tens of millions of Iranians, Lebanese, Iraqis, Yemenis, and Palestinians are the primary victims of the Iranian regime, which brings destruction, hunger, devastation, and bloodshed. It’s not clear if the U.S. can afford to abandon them. It is clear that Israel cannot abandon itself. It is possible that an action by Israel, alone, will exact a high price. But any price today will be lower than the price Israel will pay in the future.