Things will continue to develop in the days ahead, but the recent strike by Israel on Iran – dubbed “Operation Rising Lion” – needs to be discussed. We know that some 200 Israeli jets hit 100 targets all over Iran in the attempt to degrade Iran’s nuclear program. Various military leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and 6 nuclear scientists were taken out in the strike. Iran responded by sending 100 drones to Israel, but they were dealt with by the IDF.
When I first learned about this on Friday morning, I posted this on the social media:
I shed no tears for Israel seeking to defend itself, and for dealing with the terror state Iran and its nuclear weapons program. But the Israel-haters (including those claiming to be conservatives and Christians) will of course once again be going apoplectic. I never hear these folks admitting that Israel has a right to exist and defend itself like any other nation. But I have heard some of them telling us Iran has those rights! The ugly double-standards of those who hate the Jews is mind-blowing. And I do not tolerate them on my site.
Various facts can be mentioned as to what has happened:
-Israel has been preparing for this for some two decades now. During this time Iran has been swearing to completely wipe out Israel and has been feverishly working on its nuclear weapons’ program.
-Over the past year alone hundreds of ballistic missiles have been sent into Israel by Iran. They are regularly producing them at an alarming rate.
-The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran has continued to break its nuclear agreements. Iran did not allow inspections. It says Iran has over 400kg of near weapons-grade enhanced uranium. That is NOT needed for medical purposes – only for nuclear bombs. It is enough highly enriched uranium for 10 or 12 nuclear warheads – perhaps 15.
-We do NOT want an apocalyptic death cult having nuclear weapons who have sworn to annihilate Israel (who they regard as the “small Satan”) and its supporters – mainly the US (the “great Satan”). So Iran has brought all this on themselves.
-Iran normally uses proxies to fight its wars with Israel: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen.
-Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq are all being armed by Iran. Iran is a threat to Israel and the entire region.
-Trump repeatedly has said that Iran can NOT have nuclear weapons.
-Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the following: “This is a fight for our survival. If we don’t act now, we won’t be here.”
-Iran tends to buckle when confronted by other world powers resisting its belligerence, such as when Reagan in 1988 forced Iran to back down.
-We can thank Israel for dealing with Iran’s nuclear menace. In 1991 it took out Iraq’s nuclear program. In 2007 Syria’s nuclear program was taken out. All those moves potentially saved millions of lives.
-Only 20-25 per cent of the Iranian people like the Iranian regime. So this external pressure by Israel, along with internal revolt in Iran could see this ideological terrorist regime fall in the coming weeks or months.
-For the moment the US is not involved. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio released this statement:
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”
-This is the opening salvo of what perhaps will be several weeks of conflict – but likely not a ground war. Israel will de-escalate when those existential threats from Iran are removed or greatly lessened.
With these facts in mind, let me offer some commentary on this, first some local comment, and then some from overseas.
Australian political commentator Stephen Chavura posted this on the social media:
Perhaps the following hypothetical will help people to understand what Israel has just done: Imagine if Australia had a close tor neighbour that openly said, year after year, that it would destroy Australia with a bomb. Imagine also that while repeatedly saying this, it was pursuing a nuclear programme. Imagine also that this neighbour spent billions of dollars funding other groups and armies whose main goal was to destroy Australia. Imagine also that frequently these armies sent missiles into populated parts of Australia, as well as terrorists to kill Australians. Imagine if this neighbour also would periodically send missiles into Australia. Finally, imagine if one day one of the armies funded by this neighbour invaded Australia and killed, tortured, raped, and mutilated thousands of Australians, and then gloated about it, while kidnapping hundreds of Australians to be raped, tortured, and murdered back over the border. Imagine all the while this is happening, our neighbour is funding it all, gloating over it all, sending missiles into Australia, and continuing with a nuclear programme that could one day produce a nuclear weapon. Would you say that after putting up with this year after year Australia would have a right to say “No more!”, and kill key leaders in this regime and try to bomb and destroy its nuclear programme, perhaps even crippling the regime once and for all? I’d say a lot of people who are criticising Israel right now would be the first to say that Australia, if it could, ought to do exactly the same thing to this hypothetical neighbour. For Israelis, this is no hypothetical situation. This is their geo-political reality. Please try to understand that.
I said this in a comment reply: “Absolutely. I have used a similar illustration with belligerent and aggressive neighbours surrounding and constantly attacking a house and declaring their aims to kill everyone within. With no real police forces available to help it, the household either seeks to deal with that existential threat, or they will be annihilated. I stand with Israel.”
Reacting to media reports that Albanese wants Israel to simply “dialogue” with Iran, Lyle Shelton rightly responded this way: “Albo’s strategy is to negotiate with the Islamic terrorists hell bent on nuking Israel. Have we ever had a more foolish prime minister?” I replied: “Quite right: you can NOT dialogue or negotiate with those who have sworn to kill you.”
The former Pentagon official and Middle East scholar Michael Doran said on X that the geographic range of the strikes were “stunning.” He wrote:
Israel’s campaign against Iran is another one for the history books. As in the opening of the Six-Day War—when Israel crippled three Arab air forces in a matter of hours—Israel has struck first, deep, and hard. It hit targets across Iran, a huge country, with precision and total surprise. The scale and reach of the operation are staggering. . . . This was more than a military action. It was a demonstration of intelligence dominance and operational mastery—and total justice.
U.S. Democrat Senator John Fetterman – who needs to join the Republicans – said this: “Our commitment to Israel must be absolute and I fully support this attack. Keep wiping out Iranian leadership and the nuclear personnel. We must provide whatever is necessary—military, intelligence, weaponry—to fully back Israel in striking Iran.”
Matti Friedman said this in part:
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the theocracy in Iran has made it its business to wage war against Israel, a country that is more than a thousand miles away, and which has never posed a threat to Iran. For decades the war was fought in the shadows and by proxies—like Hezbollah in Lebanon, against whom I fought as a low-ranking infantry soldier in the 1990s, and which spent a year after October 7, 2023, rocketing my parents’ town and many others in northern Israel. Hezbollah has since been decapitated, while in Gaza, Iran’s allies in Hamas and Islamic Jihad have been crippled. The Assad regime in Syria has fallen. Israel’s society has been strained to the limit by the war, and the Israeli government is distrusted, even hated, by many of its citizens—including many of the pilots now active in the sky over the Iranian capital. It’s very hard to predict where things will stand a year from now, or even a few months.
The exact trigger for Operation Rising Lion may be recent intelligence Israel received that suggested Iran was going for a bomb. Prime Minister Netanyahu, in a statement after the initial strikes, asserted that Iran has taken “steps it has never taken before” to complete the last phase of constructing a bomb known as weaponization, or the design and construction of a warhead. The strikes also coincide with the Thursday release of a scathing assessment from the International Atomic Energy Agency that rebuked Iran for violating its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement, the treaty that prohibits all but five member states from using the power of the atom to build a nuclear weapon. It was the first such censure of Iran from the agency in 20 years.
Needless to say, for now it appears Trump’s hopes for a negotiated settlement to the Iran nuclear crisis have been overtaken by events. A fourth round of Iran-U.S. nuclear talks was scheduled for Sunday. There is no chance that meeting will take place. Speaking to Fox News, Trump said he still hoped the next round of Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday would still take place. “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table,” Trump said. “We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back.”
Israel’s attack represents a potentially new strategic era for the Middle East. Netanyahu, in his Thursday statement, specifically addressed the Iranian people. “I have no doubt that your day of liberation from this tyranny is closer than ever,” he said. “And when that day comes, Israelis and Iranians will renew the alliance between our two ancient peoples. Together, we will build a future of prosperity, a future of peace, a future of hope.”
Netanyahu has made this a feature of Israeli public diplomacy for nearly 10 years. On Thursday night, though, those words were backed up with targeted strikes against the Iranian regime’s leadership. Put another way, Israel’s strike may be a catalyst for the collapse of the Islamic Republic altogether. https://www.thefp.com/p/why-israel-hit-iran-now
As I say, it is early days. Various things might unfold in the days and weeks ahead. But some of the histrionics already being heard should be avoided: ‘This is the start of WWIII – we’re all gonna die!’ Calmer heads will wait and see how things develop. But at the very least we should agree with the words of the psalmist in Psalm 122:6: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
Thanks Tom. One thinks of Psalm 20 and 122 as well.
Finally the mad dog regime in Iran has tasted Israeli steel. The cowards have hid behind their proxies to escape retribution this was long overdue. I applaud Israel for dealing with these rabid dog killers.
Quite so Dave.
When thousands of Iranians themselves are dancing in the streets and shouting Am Yisrael Chai (long live Israel) even as Israel bombs critical Iranian infrastructure and weapons, it’s time for the leftists and Israel haters to admit that the IRG must pay the price for its years of cowardly violence. Am Yisrael Chai!!
Yes correct Deanne.
Thank you for providing some clarity on this complex situation.
Psalm 89
Thanks Tom. One thinks of Psalm 20 and 122 as well.
Finally the mad dog regime in Iran has tasted Israeli steel. The cowards have hid behind their proxies to escape retribution this was long overdue. I applaud Israel for dealing with these rabid dog killers.
Quite so Dave.
When thousands of Iranians themselves are dancing in the streets and shouting Am Yisrael Chai (long live Israel) even as Israel bombs critical Iranian infrastructure and weapons, it’s time for the leftists and Israel haters to admit that the IRG must pay the price for its years of cowardly violence. Am Yisrael Chai!!
Yes correct Deanne.
Thank you for providing some clarity on this complex situation.
Thanks Ross.