Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday night: “This evening, Iran made a big mistake – and it will pay for it. The regime in Tehran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and to exact a price from our enemies. Sinwar and Deif did not understand this; neither did Nasrallah or Mohsen. Apparently, there are those in Tehran who do not understand this either. They will. We will keep to the rule we have determined: Whoever attacks us – we attack them.”
And for the first time since October 7, 2023, it appears the Biden White House understands the need to punish Iran, and is likely to forego its usual warnings against Israeli action (in Gaza and Lebanon), in favor of a substantial strike.
Incidentally, in a bizarre flow of Karma eddies, no one in Israel was harmed physically by the 180 or so Iranian missiles that had been launched – except for one Gaza resident who was killed in Jericho, in the Palestinian Authority.
So, after a year of fighting, on Tuesday night Israel and its neighbors near and far entered the phase of regional war. Driven by the angry protests of Shiites who felt humiliated by what the Jews have been doing to Hezbollah so brazenly, Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei ordered a repeat of the April 13 barrage on Israel.
But while in April Israel was persuaded by the Americans not to retaliate, especially since a coalition of Western and Arab countries had come to its aid and prevented all the Iranian rockets and drones from hitting, other than in one place, an Israeli Bedouin encampment where a little girl was injured. She’s left the hospital recently.
There was another good reason why Israel decided to avoid a retaliatory response: it was the fear of a Hezbollah onslaught in case Air Force planes inflicted serious damage on the Iranians.
WHAT WAS KHAMENEI THINKING?
Did Khamenei believe the April 13 experience would be repeated and Israel would be just happy not to be seriously hurt by his missiles? Or, better stated, did he not watch what Israel has done to Hezbollah in the past two and a half weeks, driving him, the Ayatollah, to seek shelter?
Iran placed itself in harm’s way when it launched an extensive and unprecedented missile attack on Israel Tuesday night. Accordingly, a strong Israeli response is expected. And this time, it appears the Americans agree.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday: “This was a brazen, unacceptable attack by Iran, and every nation in the world must join us in condemning it. Secretary Blinken joined President Biden, Vice President Harris, and other members of the President’s national security team in monitoring this attack as it was unfolding, as well as our response. As the President has made clear, our support for Israel’s security is ironclad. We will continue to stand with the people of Israel at this critical moment.
Vice President Kamala Harris said: “Iran is not only a threat to Israel; Iran is also a threat to American personnel in the region, American interests, and innocent civilians across the region who suffer at the hands of Iran-based and -backed terrorist proxies.
“We will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend U.S. forces and interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. And we will continue to work with our allies and partners to disrupt Iran’s aggressive behavior and hold them accountable.”
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said: “Obviously, this is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with — with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel so far as we know at this time. We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure, first and foremost, American interests and then to promote stability to the maximum extent possible as we go forward.”
Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump said Biden and Harris were “leading us to the brink of World War III,” and “the so-called enemy doesn’t respect our country any longer.”
Mehr News reported on Wednesday that “the Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces has warned of hitting all infrastructures in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories if the Zionists are not leashed.”
Let’s hope that the first batch of good news in the new year 5785 will be what happens when the Zionists are unleashed. In keeping with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s statement: “Iran has not learned a simple lesson – those who attack the State of Israel pay a heavy price.”
Netanyahu promised: “On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, I say to you, citizens of Israel: Israel has the momentum and the axis of evil is in retreat. We will do whatever needs to be done to continue this trend. To achieve all of our war objectives, especially the return of all of our hostages, and ensure our existence and our future.”
So, dip your apple in honey extra deep tonight, to usher in a year when IDF bombs cut deep into those Iranian nuclear caves.
