Approaching Armageddon: Iran's Attack Has Ended, but Israel and US Have Sworn to Retaliation of "Severe Consequences"
David Haggith

Iran promised a response in its own time over an assassination by bombing that happened recently in Tehran. It was almost certain to respond to the missile strike that killed Hezbollah’s top chief Nasrallah, and was pressed even harder to respond to the ground war Israel launched last night, moving troops into Lebanon. 

The response came fast and furious today with missiles in videos appearing to strike numerous targets across Israel. That is far different than Iran’s missile attack in Aprilwhen Iran retaliated over Israel’s bombing of its consulate in Syria, which had resulted in the deaths of, at least, seven officials, including Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a top commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, and Senior Commander Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi. Iran’s missile response to Israel back then appeared to be staged as a shot-over-the-bow that was never intended to take out any targets more important than a goat shed—a mere show of force to say, “This is what we can rain down on you and get past your defenses, but with intended targets next time.”

Next time came today, and the attack, at first blush, looked more like Iran’s declaration of war on Israel because many missiles didn’t blow up until they hit the ground, though the targets were either unknown as the story rapidly unfolded or were undisclosed. It may even have been missiles that were shot down by the US or Israel that hit the ground and exploded, but it certainly appeared some missiles evaded promised US defensive measures in the videos below.

Today shows how rapidly a situation like the one that everyone has been saying couldescalate … suddenly can escalate. This morning, the situation leaped to what appeared to be all-out war.

There can be no doubt that the rage of Israel and the threat the US made to Iran that any new missile attack on Israeli soil out of Iran would have major repercussions will now result in those major repercussions. If not, their future warnings will be meaningless.

This also likely means that, if Iran does not use whatever nuclear bombs/missiles it has attained, if any, it will never have the chance to do so again. I will be surprised if Israel and the US do not seize the opportunity here to do what they have long promised to do in making sure Iran never attains a nuclear weapon. So, I suspect that is what the vague major repercussions from the US mean.

Iran must surely know this is likely its last window of opportunity for any nuclear attack; so, if it has such weapons, it won’t wait long to use them.

With the world holding its breath over an all-out war in the Middle East, President Joe Biden ordered the US military to 'aid Israel's defence' and shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel, the White House said.

It’s a little late for that, but no doubt he had issued that much of an order hours ago, and it just now made its way into the press after the main action as the story I’m writing about is rapidly evolving. Judging from the video footage that I updated today’s original publication with (and have included below), a number of Iran’s missiles, due to the shear scale of the barrage, made it past both US and Israeli defensive measures as they can be seen exploding as they hit the ground, though their targets were not visible.

Air raid sirens sounded as missiles began raining down on Israel on Tuesday, with some rockets dramatically exploding into bright orange flames near Tel Aviv….

The IDF has not confirmed which missiles were used, but the US had warned earlier that it was preparing for Iran to launch ballistic missiles this evening in yet another major escalation that leaves the Middle East on the brink….

Israeli media are reporting that over 500 missiles have been fired into Israel in what Iran has confirmed is a revenge attack for Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah….

The devastating attack on Israel comes just hours after the IDF launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon to carry out raids against Iranian-backed Hezbollah targets. 

This could easily be the turn to all-out war between Israel and Iran that many have feared, which also includes Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel is fighting on many fronts as it is continuing to devastate targets in Lebanon and Syria while rockets from its enemies were striking a number of Israeli towns and cities. Long gone are the days when the best that Israel’s foes could muster was to send dumb rockets that were usually lucky if they hit an Israeli sheep in the desert. This looked like it was becoming existential for Israel this morning, but then the attack ended as quickly as it began.

After about 45 minutes, the IDF said it was safe for people across Israel to leave shelters, and spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military did not "identify any additional aerial threats from Iran." 

Iran also indicated, via the UN, that its attack was over; and Israel’s military said they were not, as of yet, aware of any casualties.

Iran promised a “crushing response,” however, if Israel retaliates “or commits further acts of malevolence.” Analysts said Iran was likely seeking to look tough but not provoke a broad retaliation, and Israel has now also confirmed it looks like Iran’s attack is already over:

Israel says Iran missile attack appears to be over and threatens retaliation

Israel's military said the attack appeared to be over and Israelis were told it was safe to leave shelters. Paramedics were searching sites where there were reports of rocket strikes….

Daniel Hagari, the spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), pledged that the attack “will have consequences”. He added that the country remained on high alert.

He said Israel will respond to Iran’s attack in a time of its own choosing. Only yesterday, Prime Ministers Netanyahu said confidently regime change in Iran would not be far off.

One thing is certain, Netanyahu’s wars have certainly stabilized his own regime by taking political and, perhaps, legal pressure off him in focusing Israel’s attention on its enemies. He’s suddenly riding a wave of euphoric far-right support.

On October 7, Israeli Prime Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s self-styled image as “Mister Security” seemed irrevocably shattered by the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The Jewish homeland and its leader had failed to protect the people. How could he possibly survive?…

Nearly a year later, Netanyahu has staged a remarkable turnaround. Though Likud would still struggle to form a government were elections held today, a brutal campaign of airstrikes in Lebanon and assassinations across the Middle East in recent weeks have buoyed the prime minister to heights unimaginable in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ attacks almost a year ago.

A poll released Sunday by Israel’s Channel 12 showed that Likud would win 25 seats were elections to be held today, making it the largest party. Netanyahu enjoys 38% support, according to the survey.

“The regional confrontations are good for Netanyahu,” veteran pollster and analyst Dahlia Scheindlin told CNN. “They seem quite clearly to be the contributing factor to his recovery.”

Israel’s aggressive military maneuvers against its enemies, she said, have helped restored a sense of agency and strength destroyed by Hamas’ October 7 attack….

The latest word is that Israel and the US are now plotting joint action to bring “severe consequences” for Iran.

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