Hitler called it the “Nero Decree.” In March 1945, when the Allies were already on German soil advancing toward Berlin, he signed an order to burn all bridges, destroy all local industry and leave behind nothing but scorched earth.
A fierce debate is taking place in the upper floors of the IDF headquarters and the lower levels of the bunker beneath. It concerns the possible existence of a parallel Iranian directive, three words long: “The Doomsday Order.”
If such an order exists, it would not deal with destroying Iranian infrastructure but rather with issuing a “go” command to the entire Axis of Resistance—Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas and the militias—to fire everything they have.
If such an order exists, its meaning is no longer existential from Israel’s perspective: Hamas has been dismantled as an army, Hezbollah has been cut down by 90 percent, and Syria no longer takes instructions from Tehran. But it would still be a major headache for the military, a serious challenge for Israel’s defense systems and a prelude to a broad military operation in Lebanon.
