Israel forms corps for strategic strikes

Amid deepening tension between Iran and its principal adversaries -- the United States and Israel -- the Jewish state has formed a Special Forces command to carry out strategic strikes deep inside hostile territory.

The formation of the new command indicates that Israel's military envisages long-range, largely clandestine and multi-arm operations will have a much higher priority than the conventional operations that have been the main focus of military activity for decades.

Israeli defense officials say the elite new corps' area of operations includes the "third circle," a term that usually encompasses the Persian Gulf and the Horn of Africa.

Indeed, the new formation, officially known in Hebrew as the Depth Corps, has been popularly dubbed the "Iran Command" so ingrained has the Islamic Republic become in the national psyche as the main existential threat to the Jewish state because of its alleged quest for nuclear weapons. Read More