Most people are still watching Tehran, waiting to see whether America or Israel strikes Iran again.
Elijah thinks they're watching the wrong battlefield. His argument is that the next phase of this conflict won't be fought primarily inside Iran.
It will be fought across Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, where the real objective isn't to attack Iran directly, but to slowly dismantle the network of allies that has protected it for decades.
That made a lot of the recent headlines suddenly look very different.
The anti-corruption drive in Iraq, the push to disarm Iraqi militias, the renewed mobilization of Saudi and UAE-backed forces inside Yemen, and the talk about Syria confronting Hezbollah.
Elijah believes these aren't isolated events; they're all pieces of the same long-term strategy: to isolate Iran step by step until it stands alone.
Then he explained why he thinks the Strait of Hormuz has become so important.
Washington sees Hormuz as an economic problem, but Iran sees it as leverage.
As long as Israel remains in Lebanon, Iranian assets remain frozen, and the wider agreement remains unfulfilled, Elijah says Tehran has no reason to surrender the strongest bargaining chip it still holds.
That's why he believes the current ceasefire changes very little.
In his view, the war never really stopped; it simply shifted into a different phase.
The direct confrontation became too costly for everyone, so now the pressure moves onto Iran's partners instead.
By the end of the interview, I wasn't thinking about one war anymore.
I was thinking about four separate conflicts that may actually be the same war playing out on different fronts.
And if Elijah is right, what we're watching is the opening chapter of a much longer regional campaign.
@EjMalrai
