Many of those who criticize Trump for the attack on Iran – and there are plenty who do, of course – say some version of “of course the mullahs are evil and need to be destroyed, but what Trump did was wrong.” But they have no suggestions as to what else might have worked, because virtually everything has been tried and nothing has ever worked.
Meanwhile, Trump has shown remarkable courage, as has Netanyahu. We still don’t know whether their courage will pay off in establishing a new and better Iran, less bent on terrorism and destroying (or taking over) its neighbors, and less oppressive of its citizenry. How could we know? But there’s a chance those good things will result, and if the attack hadn’t been tried, Iran would almost certainly have continued on a terrible trajectory that would not only have been destructive to its own people but potentially destructive to the entire world, particularly Israel and the US but also much of the Middle East and the Western nations.
Now for some news of what’s happened there already.
(1) The report is that Khameini and forty other Iranian leaders are dead. But the death of the Supreme Leader isn’t just a rumor. It has been confirmed by Iranian state media:
The Iranian government announced 40 days of public mourning following the “martyrdom” of the 86-year-old ayatollah, who had ruled Iran for over 36 years.
Khameini was part of the original revolutionary crew of mullahs back in 1979, ruling with a repressive and iron hand.
Aarabi also warned that “eliminating Khamenei in isolation on its own is not enough,” calling for a broader strategy aimed at the wider apparatus surrounding the supreme leader.
“You have to dismantle this extensive apparatus that he has created,” he said.
I am sure that Israel and the US are well aware of that, and are trying to manage it. The question is whether they will succeed. But they are on their way. The IDF says that forty Iranian leaders were killed, and Trump says “a large number.” But this is just the first day; more needs to be done, and much remains to be seen.
Among the officials killed were Iran’s Minister of Defense, Head of Intelligence, and the Supreme Leader’s Advisor for Security Affairs and Secretary of the Defense Council.
“The world is a better place without them,” The IDF wrote on X.
(2) Six people have been killed in retaliatory strikes by Iran in nine countries. I am very sorry about those six people, but considering the efforts Iran has made, the number could have been far greater. Most of the Iranian strikes were stopped by air defense systems.
(3) The UN Secretary-General Gutteres condemned the strikes, saying they were “a grave threat to international peace and security.” Of course he did.
(4) Iranians are dancing in the streets – not just in the US, but in Iran:
Iranians were seen dancing and chanting in the streets Saturday morning in video circulating online after “Operation Epic Fury,” which unleashed strikes targeting Iranian leadership.
“I love Trump!” one student shouted as smoke arose from a nearby building, according to a clip shared on X and reported by The Telegraph.
Other footage showed people dancing in the middle of the road — an act of joy that has been criminalized by the Islamic regime since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Women smiled and twirled as music played and onlookers clapped …
I would assume the great majority of people are staying behind closed doors. But I would also guess that the majority of them are celebrating, too.
(5) Will Iranian terror agents strike in US? They certainly will try, if they can. But there wasn’t much activity after US/Israel strikes in Iran last summer. Let’s hope that they don’t succed at retaliating now.
(6) Mamdani says exactly what you might think he would say, showing he’s both a knave and fool (but you already knew that):
“Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war. Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement. “I am focused on making sure that every New Yorker is safe. I have been in contact with our Police Commissioner and emergency management officials. We are taking proactive steps, including increasing coordination across agencies and enhancing patrols of sensitive locations out of an abundance of caution. Additionally, I want to speak directly to Iranian New Yorkers: you are part of the fabric of this city — you are our neighbors, small business owners, students, artists, workers, and community leaders. You will be safe here.”
As though Iran hasn’t been at war with us for forty-seven years. As though we are carpet-bombing Tehran, a la WWII. I wonder what he considers “sensitive locations” in New York, in need of protection. I bet they’re not synagogues. And the Iranian New Yorkers he says he will protect are probably beside the themselves with joy right now at Khameini’s fall.
