Israel shows Iran some consequences
I wonder what it would take to get Iran to give up on the idea of annihilating Israel, short of an Iranian regime change. At the very least, the events of the past few days should have convinced them that when the Israelis say “never again,” they mean it.
As time goes on we learn more about the Israeli attack and how it was accomplished. Although we don’t know what’s truth and what’s fiction, with the knowledge of what happened to Hezbollah via some pagers, we probably find it all plausible. So regarding Iran we have – for example – reports on what the Mossad managed to do in Iran:
Israeli spies smuggled missiles and secretly hid explosive drones deep inside Iran in a series of covert operations leading up to Friday’s deadly onslaught – before tricking military leaders into gathering for a meeting so they could be wiped out.
Intelligence agents with Mossad, Israel’s top spy agency, started infiltrating the heart of Iran several months back in order to pull off the surprise attack aimed at obliterating Iranian nuclear and military facilities, as well as a swath of top military commanders.
I’d love to know how they tricked the Iranians into assembling for a meeting, but I doubt those details will be revealed.
There’s plenty of speculation about Trump’s exact role, as well. But here’s what Trump wrote:
I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to “just do it,” but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it. Certain Iranian hardliner’s [sic] spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse! There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All!
Trump has been a busy guy since he was inaugurated in January.
Iran has lobbed missiles at Israel in retaliation, killing three people so far although most of the missiles have been intercepted:
Channel 12 quoted an unnamed Israeli political source as threatening Iran with escalated strikes.
“Iran will pay an unbearably heavy price for firing at civilian areas,” the source was quoted as saying. “We know what Israel hit [in its attacks on Iranian targets today],” and we know what Israel decided not to hit. And that’s the next step.”
The remark appeared to be a reference to potential Israeli strikes on Iranian energy and infrastructure targets.
Or to Khameini?
Meanwhile, what I call the Tucker Carlson right isn’t happy at all:
Nick Fuentes said “this is the final battle in Israel’s 50 year reign of terror to destabilize & destroy every country that resists their rule.” Candace Owens called Israel’s “bloodlust” demonic. Matt Stoller doesn’t think Israel’s “bloodthirsty insanity” should be “our problem.” Crisis magazine’s Eric Sammons doesn’t think Catholics can support Israel’s attack on Iran. UFC fighter and podcaster Jake Shields is “sick and tired of paying for and fighting Jewish wars” and demanded the destruction of Israel. Dan Bilzerian said, “These jews just can’t help themselves, they attack Iran unprovoked, and they’ll be crying about how they don’t feel safe by morning,” adding, “If I was the president, I would round up every politician supporting Israel and have them all tried for treason.”
“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.”
But we don’t want an Iranian empire. What we should want is a restoration of a civilized Persia.
Question posted at X by David LImbaugh: “I’m just going to flat out open the subject: Someone please explain to me why there is a such a visceral hatred of Israel and or of Jews. It’s like Never Trumpism in that it transcends what Jews do or what Trump does. There is some underlying hatred & I don’t get it.”
https://x.com/DavidLimbaugh/status/1933697908244951494
(3200 replies so far)
For funs link goes to 35 sec video spoof of Khamenei, enjoy: https://x.com/Doranimated/status/1933665041250677203
Candace Owens went down the drain awhile back, now Tucker seems to be circling the bowl…really too bad as I had some respect for their work; not somuch anymore.
Thanks sdferr,
One can always use a good laugh. That did the trick.
I was a subscriber and occasional patron of Crisis when it was a print publication and for a number of years a regular commenter on its online site (until they banned me for some unfathomable reason). There are still familiar names on the contributors list. It’s less concerned with topical question than it once was.
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It’s rather inapposite for the NR twit to lump Eric Sammons (the current editor of Crisis) with the rest of these characters. Sammons is a student of Catholic theology given to making ex cathedra statements derived from a strand of thought within lay Catholic discourse wherein its considered illegitimate to contemplate how any piece of technology or any set of human relations actually works. Perfectly tedious and characteristic of people who are responsible for nothing outside their own households and cannot understand the decision-making of someone who is. That doesn’t make him an enemy of the Jews.
Its as bad as russell moores christianity today as glenn beck points out ‘standing up for the jews’ is a pretty simple thing
Its the first time ive heard of this sammons character hopefully the last
But we don’t want an Iranian empire. What we should want is a restoration of a civilized Persia.
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Iran’s political life has been in the grip of vicious revanchists for 46 years. That having been said, the implications for daily life in the country aren’t 1/20th as sanguinary as they were ca. 1984. An ordinary country of Iran’s dimensions in this world in which we live has circumscribed ambitions and is motivated by reasons-of-state. An ordinary, businesslike Iran would be concerned with its own security and prosperity and concerned to counteract any efforts on the part of potential rivals to injure it. Iran had businesslike relations with Israel for 30 years. There was not after 1978 any practical impediment to that. The regime just did not want that.
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One amusing incident in recent years was the appearance of a video taken of one of Ayatollah Khameinei’s grand-daughters on a street in New York City, wearing a get up scantier than any I’ve seen on the young women in my family (at least since halter tops went out of fashion). We can hope that most of the populace in Iran is thoroughly bored with the idées fixes of the gerontocrats in charge of the country (once young fanatics, now old fanatics) and will laugh them off the stage when the actuarial tables take out the geezer-in-chief.
@David Foster: Anyone who wants to know why some people hate Israel or Jews can easily find out by asking those people. They are not shy, quite the opposite, they are tiresomely verbal on the topic and delighted to share their views. Limbaugh is just being performative.
I personally think it’s trapped priors. Once you think someone is evil it is simple to put the worst interpretation on anything they do.
In this case, a surprise attack on a country launched from inside its own territory is already hard to justify, there are strong international norms against that kind of thing. But the target is Iran, a longtime flouter of those norms-we still have no diplomatic relations with them because they violated our embassy almost 50 years ago and have no desire to make even an apology, let alone any form of restitution or atonement. Iran has long perpetrated terrorism and violence against Israel and does not recognize Israel as a state.
And so any argument for why this isn’t like Pearl Harbor requires a long explanation and antisemites have little motivation to want to listen to a defense of Israel’s actions even for things much easier to justify. And this explanation would require outlining 50 years of Iran’s bad behavior. And that’s like catnip to an antisemite because they will get to respond with a long recitation of what they think Israel had done wrong…
In this case, a surprise attack on a country launched from inside its own territory is already hard to justify
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No it isn’t. Iran is the patron of three paramilitary outfits which have attacked Israel in the last two years.
the Houthis Hezbollah and Hamas, although the latter share a timeshare, with Qatar
similarly, to the event in the Steppes and farther west, it was an audacious step,
bolder than Doolittles raid,
@Art Deco: Iran is the patron of three paramilitary outfits which have attacked Israel in the last two years.
Precisely my point.
they may have learned how not to be seen,
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/byex2eoxgx#autoplay
its bizarre they are so laser focused on Israel, under sheikh
Yahya which is Arabic for John, there was amicable relations, the British and the Saudis were the long time foes, under Saleh, the Crocodile there was a tacit alliance with the last two
A word to Tucker and Candace: Be grateful and say “thank you” to Israel for dealing with our worst enemy.
Extra credit: Bow down and pay homage to the best ally we’ve ever had.
Things have escalated quickly in the last 48 hours after Israel’s initial attack. I’ve been reading, listening several online sources. Chat checked my summary and filled in a few blanks. As far as I know Chat’s summary is accurate:
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Where We Are Now:
* Iran’s Counterattack
After Israel’s strikes on nuclear and military sites, Iran launched a multi-wave counteroffensive:
First waves: primarily aimed at Israeli military installations (airbases, radar, command centers).
Later wave: ~200 ballistic missiles targeting civilian areas — crossing a red line Israel had clearly warned against.
Despite Israel’s and the U.S.’s advanced missile defenses (Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, and THAAD), about 40 of these missiles struck, causing:
Significant damage in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and other urban centers.
Civilian casualties (early reports: dozens dead, hundreds injured — numbers still being confirmed).
* Israel’s Response (So Far)
Israel has begun retaliatory strikes:
Targeted attacks on Iran’s oil export infrastructure — signaling a move to hit at Iran’s economic lifeblood.
Threats issued (both public and reportedly via back channels) that Khamenei and senior leadership are now “directly in the crosshairs” if civilian targeting continues.
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As I understand it, Iran started with 2000-3000 ballistic missiles. So they have plenty more and at current rate 20% will get through Israeli and American defenses.
Iran shows no interest in resuming negotiations with Trump. It seems Israel and Iran will soon be in all-out war with potentially larger repercussions.
The whole thing reminds me of that silly Original Star Trek episode where Kirk forced a planet to stop playing simulated war and actually go to war for real.
Iran was playing at war with Israel before, counting on the US to keep Israel from doing anything back. Now they have real war, and it’s not as much fun for them as the other kind.
I don’t know about others, but I am rather nervous about all this.
Which isn’t to say I disagree with the current strategy, but no one is really in control of where this goes.
Pray ’em if you’ve got ’em.
Israel has hit two fuel depots in Iran. I’m not clear if these are new.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel had “paved the way to Tehran,” amid ongoing attacks, including in Iran’s capital, against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as strikes against fuel depots.
“We will hit every site, every target belonging to the ayatollahs’ regime — everything that they’ve experienced until now will be nothing compared to what they will feel” in the coming days, the premier said in a Hebrew video statement.
He defined Israel’s goal in its ongoing operation as “eliminating the double threat from Iran to destroy the State of Israel” — its nuclear program and its ballistic missile program.
Israel struck two fuel depots in Tehran, the Iranian oil ministry said early Sunday morning, shortly after Iran announced the launch of a new wave of strikes against Israel.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-jets-strike-tehran-oil-fields-as-pm-vows-to-hit-every-target-in-irans-regime/
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Iran’s problem is that Israel’s tech is state-of-the-art, Israel has already destroyed most of Iran’s air defenses, and Israel’s intelligence is frighteningly good. Iran is close to helpless to Israel’s attacks.