Israeli attack on Iran was a wish of the White House

So again the Israelis first. Just like in June last year, Israel carried out air strikes on Iran on Saturday. Large explosions were seen above the capital Tehran. Clouds of smoke have also been spotted in the area where Iranian President Mahmoud Pezeshkian has his office.

In a statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel has launched “a pre-emptive strike against Iran” to “eliminate threats against the State of Israel.” Katz said he expects Iran to fire missiles and drones at his country in retaliation.

Later in the morning it was announced that the US was participating in the attack. “The U.S. military is undertaking a major and ongoing operation to prevent this deeply deranged, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our most important national security interests,” President Donald Trump said.

In recent weeks, there has been long speculation about a US attack on Iran, after the US sent an armada of war equipment to the region. Israel was expected to participate in an American attack. The official reason was the killing of thousands of demonstrators by the Iranian regime, but the alliance has long believed that Iran should stop its uranium enrichment.

In recent days, the scenario has emerged that Washington would leave the first blow to its ally Israel. Such an attack would prompt Iran to retaliate, the White House expected. The American voter would have more understanding for a war in the Middle East if Israel had to be helped than if the US itself started shooting.

Israeli population supports attack

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington to advocate action against Iran’s nuclear program. There has been a certain eagerness to attack in Israel in recent weeks. In a recent Channel 12 poll, it supported six in ten Israelis participation in a possible American attack. A majority of voters who voted for an opposition party also support military action.

Last June, the Israelis started bombing nuclear facilities in Iran, followed by the Americans. After twelve days the war was over. Trump said at the time that it was “a spectacular military success” in which the nuclear facilities were “completely and totally destroyed.” Yet now, eight months later, a new attack would be necessary.

In addition to Tehran, the alliance will now again focus on nuclear installations. The Iranian regime has always claimed that it is not pursuing a nuclear weapon, but at the same time claims that it is entitled to a peaceful nuclear program, including for scientific and medical purposes. The US and Israel have long been skeptical of Iran’s promises, especially given the level of uranium enrichment the country is achieving.

Iran’s missiles are also a target: “We’re going to destroy their missiles and destroy their missile industry,” Trump said on Saturday morning.

The American force that has been built up is the largest in the Gulf region since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It concerns an armada of at least thirteen naval ships and several hundred fighter aircraft.

Image of the Jaam Tower in Tehran, a famous 32-story skyscraper with offices and shops. The image was posted by news site Iran International and verified by NRC.

Patriot and Thaad air defense systems have been deployed in many places in the region to counter Iranian counterattacks with ballistic missiles. With this, the Americans have combined so much combat power that it… according to government officials could wage an air war against Iran lasting several weeks or even longer.

Waiting for a counterattack

We are waiting for an Iranian counterattack. It is obvious that Tehran will first fire rockets at Israel. The air raid siren sounded in that country on Saturday morning, a call to the population to seek shelter. Israeli airspace has been closed and restrictions have been placed on gatherings in the country.

During the Twelve Day War last June, Iranian missiles killed 33 Israelis; the US and Israel themselves killed more than a thousand Iranians.

Israel has Iron Dome, an anti-aircraft defense that shoots most enemy missiles out of the sky. The US military in the region has no such air defense. In recent weeks, Pentagon officials and members of Congress have repeatedly warned that sustained Iranian attacks could strain U.S. military supplies.

A senior US intelligence official told news site Politico that the US intelligence community is “concerned” and that it is “monitoring possible asymmetric retaliation by Iran against US facilities and personnel in the Middle East and Europe.”

Addition (28/02, 9:03 am): This article has been supplemented with the information that the United States is also carrying out attacks on Iran.

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