Friday, April 10, 2026

04/09 Links: Murray: We must crush Iran now so it can’t come back and spread terror; The war in numbers: 650 Iranian missiles fired, 24 killed, and 10,800 Israeli strikes; Yoo: Iran's Flagrant Assault on the Rules of War

From Ian:

Douglas Murray: We must crush Iran now so it can’t come back and spread terror
There is a reason why the Middle East suffers from so many conflicts.

Why have there been so many wars in Gaza? Why has Lebanon been in a state of war for almost five decades? Why has the whole region, from Yemen to Cyprus had to put up with Iranian interference for 47 years?

Because while the Mullahs and their proxies are thinking about the end-times we are stuck worrying about the midterms. It is this short-term thinking that has lead the West and its allies to keep stopping hostilities just before the point of total victory.

The present ceasefire looks likely to lead to a return of the pre-war status quo. Which means a return not to peace but to war. If the ceasefire lines stop where they are, Iran will help Hezbollah rebuild its stockpiles in Lebanon. The regime in Tehran will rebuild its other terror proxies in the region.And the Iranian regime will continue its decades-long project to develop nuclear weapons.

President Trump has the ability not just to disrupt but to destroy this cycle. He may be the only person in this era of history who can. It is not as though there is any leadership from any other democracy.

The president may not be able to make the regime in Iran fall. But he has the ability to bring it to its knees. And then to leave them on their knees until time, and events, can take their own course on them.

As another sage once put it, “Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.” To which I might add that any job worth starting is worth finishing well.
John Yoo: Iran's Flagrant Assault on the Rules of War
Iran's response to the war launched by the U.S. and Israel provides a reason beyond pure American self-interest to end the rule of the ayatollahs. Tehran broadened the conflict by attacking civilians in neighboring countries uninvolved in the war. A regime that launches systematic warfare against civilians violates the core rules of civilized warfare. The U.S. and Israel would do the world enormous good by ending a regime that flouts our common moral norms in such a flagrant and destructive manner.

Iran has launched missiles and drones at Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan - nations that had committed no aggression against Iran and posed no threat of attack against Iran. It also attacked neutral vessels in the Persian Gulf and prevented them from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. and Israel have sought to conduct the war with the highest regard for minimizing civilian casualties. Compared to this, Iran has struck major civilian targets in neighboring countries, including residential buildings, airports, utilities, and ports. Iran hit the Aramco complex at Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia, the Ras Laffan LNG facility in Qatar, oil and gas facilities in the UAE, and a water desalination plant in Bahrain, none of which are American military assets.

It fired missiles at the Old City of Jerusalem, landing fragments 1,200 meters from the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It struck residential areas in Dimona and Arad, wounding over a hundred civilians, including children. It has fired more than 350 ballistic missiles at Israel, half carrying cluster munitions designed to scatter explosive bomblets in civilian neighborhoods.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important shipping lanes and a waterway governed by the international law of the sea, which guarantees free passage to all neutral nations. Tehran's disruption of the Strait is pure economic blackmail against the rest of the world. Iran effectively attacks the rest of the world by targeting purely civilian ships.

The rules of war are not complicated. Militaries may strike military targets. Militaries may not deliberately target civilians or threaten the commerce of neutral nations. Iran has crossed those lines repeatedly. Tehran's flouting of all the rules of morality in war explains why the U.S. and Israel were right to confront the Islamic Republic now, rather than wait for its threat to gain in strength in the future, potentially wielding nuclear weapons.
Jonathan Spyer: The Winners and Losers of the Iran Ceasefire Deal
The announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran resolves none of the issues which caused the conflict. From Israel's point of view, the Iranian regime has been significantly weakened in its capacities in a number of key areas. At the same time, its intentions remain unchanged. This means that the long war is set to continue.

Israel wants to use the entrance of Hizbullah into the war on March 4 as an opportunity to establish a buffer zone north of the border, inside Lebanon, to put the residents of Israel's border communities out of range of Hizbullah's anti-tank missiles and free of the constant danger of an Oct. 7-style ground incursion. This process is not yet completed and five IDF divisions are currently in Lebanon engaged against Hizbullah south of the Litani River.

For Israel, a lull in operations against Iran with Lebanon still an active front would enable air power to be deployed in greater force against Hizbullah. From Israel's point of view, the ceasefire with Iran does not extend to Lebanon.

The essential components of the regional strategic picture remain in place. Iran remains an aggressive and dangerous power, with the ambition of expelling the U.S. from the region, dominating the Gulf states, and destroying Israel. The U.S., Israel, and the Gulf states remain determined to resist Iranian ambitions. The events of the last five weeks represent a round in this ongoing struggle. Israel and the U.S. have demonstrated their vast conventional military advantage over the Iranians. They have also not yet demonstrated the capacity to turn that advantage into a strategy able to bring the struggle to a successful strategic conclusion by toppling the Tehran regime - the only way that this will end.
What Was Achieved in the War Against Iran?
I suggest that anyone swept up in the euphoria of claims that Israel's war in Iran was a failure should look at the information and analysis coming from American sources.

It is hard to believe that such a large-scale operation, in which, according to the Israel Air Force, target destruction rates were 10 to 20 times greater than in the 12-day war in June 2025, is being portrayed by talking heads as a failure.

By any measure, this was the most successful military operation since the IDF and the Israel Air Force began conducting such operations.

Israel and the U.S. achieved the objective of destroying every production cycle, every component, and every plant and laboratory connected to Iran's nuclear project.

Security needs mean neutralizing the nuclear threat and reducing missile-launch capabilities.

The Iranians could have raced ahead and built a missile wall that would deter Israel and the U.S. from taking military action against them, as North Korea did in its time.

That parallel missile and nuclear race was cut short. This is an enormous success.

Trump and Netanyahu acted against the trend that had prevailed in the U.S. and Israel over the past 35 years. They chose military action, and they succeeded.

The precedent set by this dual alliance, combined with demonstrated military superiority, carries enormous significance.


Richard Kemp: It will take Iran decades to recover from this war
Reeling under the most intense American and Israeli assaults, the Iranian regime has capitulated. In the face of Donald Trump’s threats, warning that the worst is yet to come, it has dropped its cast-iron demand that the Strait of Hormuz would not be reopened until the US committed to ending the war, cancelling sanctions and paying reparations.

That has been conveniently ignored by many Western commentators who would have portrayed the two-week ceasefire as a defeat for Trump, no matter how it was framed. It has also been quietly forgotten by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) leaders now calling the shots in Tehran, who would themselves have declared victory whatever the outcome.

It’s very telling that so many anti-Trumpers in the West, including some political leaders, seem to be playing the same tune as Iran’s dictators.

This ceasefire – even if it holds and the Iranians uncharacteristically stick to their word – is unlikely to be the end of the conflict. Trump will not accept Iran’s new list of demands, however watered down they may be. Since his first term, he has been playing hardball with the ayatollahs. He started by eliminating Qassim Soleimani, their top IRGC terrorist commander, cancelled Barack Obama’s deeply flawed nuclear deal and returned to the maximum-pressure sanctions regime.

Last June he backed Israel’s defensive war on Iran and then reinforced it with devastating strikes against its nuclear facilities. Finally we came to the all-out joint offensive with Israel that started a few weeks ago. Despite decades of repeated threats and lethal attacks against the US and its allies, including British and American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, Trump was the first American president with the steel to directly attack Iran.

For a regime that prioritises its toxic ideology far above the good of the country, it is highly unlikely that the IRGC will go along with Trump’s red lines either. These include ending their nuclear project, ceasing their ballistic missile programme, terminating their ring of terrorist proxies and surrendering stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
‘You can never take their word’: Two-week ceasefire casts doubt on Iranian promises
Former British commander Richard Kemp says it is difficult to trust the Iranian regime during the two-week ceasefire arrangement.

“You can never take Iran’s word for anything,” Mr Kemp told Sky News host James Macpherson.

“They have constantly given undertakings and then constantly just ignored them.”


JPost Editorial: Khamenei dead, proxy networks destroyed: Has Israel won the war?
A two-week ceasefire between the United States, Israel, and Iran took effect Tuesday, ending 39 days of war. The "Islamabad Accords," brokered by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir, are already fraying.

Missile attacks hit the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait within hours. The Strait of Hormuz is reopening under terms that let Iran and Oman collect transit fees. Negotiations begin Friday. Nothing is settled.

The instinct right now is to focus on what went wrong. That instinct should be resisted long enough to reckon with what this campaign accomplished – but not so long that we mistake a successful military operation for a resolved strategic problem.

Former supreme leader Ali Khamenei is dead. The man who directed Iran’s regional aggression for 35 years was killed on February 28 in a precision Israeli airstrike, along with dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) senior commanders.

Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure has been set back to a degree Israeli defense planners would have called fantasy in 2024. Its air defenses failed to prevent sustained strikes over five weeks. Its navy in the Gulf of Oman is wrecked. Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) has confirmed at least 1,221 military dead. Iran International places the toll at 4,700.

The nuclear program has been struck in two consecutive campaigns. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that highly enriched uranium stored underground survived 2025. Much of that capacity has been hit.

Iran is further from a weapon than at any point since it began enrichment. The proxy network is gone. Hezbollah’s senior leadership has been systematically eliminated. Hamas no longer functions militarily. The Houthis stayed out entirely. Iran spent four decades building a system that let it wage war without its own flag on the battlefield. It no longer exists.
Israelis wanted the regime to fall. They may have gotten something better
Everything now turns on the Strait of Hormuz.

In 39 days, the US-Israeli campaign killed Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, wrecked its ballistic missile infrastructure, and forced a regime that spent decades projecting invincibility to accept a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan.

Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) has confirmed at least 1,221 military deaths. Iran International puts the security forces toll at 4,700. The navy in the Gulf of Oman is finished. The nuclear program has been struck twice in under a year.

And the proxy network was already hollowed out before the first bomb fell on February 28, Hezbollah’s command structure gutted, Hamas dismantled in Gaza, the Houthis’ leadership killed last year. By the time US and Israeli jets reached Iran, the axis of resistance existed mostly as a slogan.

US President Donald Trump made the call that mattered most: greenlighting the February 28 strike, even as his own national security establishment was split. His maximum pressure sanctions had cratered Iran’s economy before the first sortie. His deadline brinkmanship, which The Washington Post and The New York Times editorial boards treated as buffoonery, dragged Iran to a ceasefire.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was blunt: “This is a victory for the United States that President Trump and our incredible military made happen.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supplied the operational architecture. The pager operation. The Nasrallah strike. The push toward direct US involvement during last June’s Twelve-Day War. Each was a deliberate escalation that the foreign policy establishment said would backfire.

As Nadim Koteich, a prominent UAE-based commentator, told me: “Thanks to Bibi Netanyahu, they lost everything in this war.”

The historical parallel that fits is not Iraq 2003. It is the Cold War. President Ronald Reagan did not tear down the Berlin Wall. He made it impossible to maintain. Decades of pressure made the Soviet system unsustainable, and the people of Eastern Europe did the rest.


US and Israel set out ambitious, vital war goals; as of the ceasefire, none have been achieved
Launching what was initially described as “a pre-emptive” campaign against Iran on February 28, the United States and Israel set out a series of highly ambitious and ultimately vital goals. When US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire and declared victory 39 days later, amid significant tactical success but inadequate strategic planning, none of them had been definitively achieved.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encouraged an evidently amenable Trump to go to war in order to close the vicious and rapacious regime’s path to nuclear weapons, destroy its ballistic missile capabilities, dismantle its proxies and thwart its global terror activities. And the president has indicated that he remains committed to achieving all of this in a multi-point “long-term” peace deal that is now supposed to be negotiated.

But, for now, the single most important war aim — ensuring that this regime can never get that weapon — remains unfulfilled. Iran’s nuclear “industrial base” has been further degraded, the regime retains its buried stockpile of highly enriched uranium. It may, if anything, be more inclined to attempt a breakout to the bomb, with a heightened determination to destroy Israel and to achieve broader invulnerability to future attack.

Similarly, while its ballistic missile capabilities, including all the necessary manufacturing elements, have been greatly degraded — Netanyahu and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have both said Iran is not capable of building more missiles at present — the regime proved able to keep firing throughout the war, at Israel and Gulf neighbors, including at longer ranges and with diversely deadly warheads.

Its Hezbollah proxy in Lebanon has battered the Israeli north relentlessly, proving far more potent than residents had been given to understand after the IDF’s successes in 2024. Hamas stayed out of the conflict, quietly continuing its Gaza revival, with Israel’s main attention focused elsewhere.

Both Trump and Netanyahu also set a declared goal of creating the climate in which the Iranian public would be able to rise up and oust the regime. As Trump acknowledged this week, however, it remained too dangerous for people to do; they knew they would be shot dead, like tens of thousands before them.
Netanyahu left with vague promises after another war ends without a decisive win
And this, it seems, is how it may end.

Not with the dramatic death of Iran’s “whole civilization,” in the words of US President Donald Trump’s threat, but a two-week ceasefire with Iran that looks likely to leave the Islamic Republic in a position to survive and rebuild after nearly 40 days of war.

The Trump administration, of course, is saying that it won.

“This is a victory for the United States of America,” crowed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Israel, which wanted to keep fighting, has been more circumspect, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel “has more goals to complete,” in a video statement released after the ceasefire between the US and Iran took effect.

“We will achieve them,” he promised.

“Nothing is over yet,” said Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. “I don’t see how it is possible to bridge the positions of the US and Iran.”

Government leaders have obvious reasons to sell the abrupt end to the fighting as a temporary measure, though the prospect of Trump bringing the US back into an unpopular war without a clear path to achieving his goals appears remote.

“Trump killed the thing,” a senior security cabinet member told the Kan public broadcaster. “There is not going to be a return to fighting in two weeks. As it stands, the Iranians are free to rebuild.”

Trump and his team are using two central claims as evidence of their stated victory.

First, he says that Iran will not be allowed to enrich uranium and that the highly-enriched uranium under destroyed nuclear sites will be taken out of the country, an issue that Netanyahu said he and Trump “see eye to eye” on.

Second, the US — as well as Israel — is boasting about the fact that Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as evidence that Tehran was forced to give in.

Both those claims are suspect.
WSJ Editorial: What Did the Iran War Accomplish?
The U.S. and Israel succeeded in further degrading Iran's nuclear program beyond what they did in June 2025. The main nuclear sites were bombed again.

The regime now knows the U.S. will monitor any new nuclear activity and can always strike again.

This is a better check on its chances of getting a bomb than another piece of diplomatic paper.

The nearly 40 days of bombing also did enormous damage to Iran's military and its industrial base.

Its navy is destroyed, its air defenses gone, and its drone and missile stockpiles and production substantially degraded.

This will take years to rebuild, even with the likely help of Russia and China.

All of this was accomplished with minimal American losses.

The demonstration effect of the U.S. military's combined arms operation against Russian and Chinese air defenses won't be lost on the world.


Israel a ‘curse for humanity,’ says Pakistan Defense Minister
Israel is “evil and a curse for humanity,” Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Thursday, adding that he hopes its founders will “burn in hell.”

His remarks come as Islamabad tries to position itself as a diplomatic player in efforts to contain the widening regional war.

Asif made the remarks in a post on his verified X/Twitter account. Pakistan has publicly pushed for an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon while also preparing to host diplomatic talks about the Iran war in Islamabad.

Pakistan said Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had sought its support for an “immediate end” to the attacks, Reuters reported. An Iranian delegation was due in Islamabad that night for talks tied to the broader crisis, a separate Reuters report said.

“Israel is evil and a curse for humanity,” Asif wrote in the post. While peace talks were taking place in Islamabad, “genocide” was being carried out in Lebanon, he said. Innocent civilians were being killed by Israel “first in Gaza, then in Iran, and now in Lebanon,” and the bloodshed was continuing without pause, he added.

In the same post, Asif wrote that he hoped those who created “this cancerous state” on Palestinian land “to get rid of European Jews” would “burn in hell.”

His language went far beyond standard diplomatic criticism and amounted to one of the most incendiary anti-Israel statements by a serving Pakistani official. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry used more formal, though still harsh, language on Thursday. Israel’s actions in Lebanon constituted “a blatant violation of international law and fundamental humanitarian principles,” it said.

Last month, the ministry condemned Israel’s “continued military aggression” in Lebanon and said Pakistan stood in “complete solidarity” with the Lebanese people.

Asif has used extreme rhetoric against Israel this year. In January, he said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “the biggest criminal of humanity” and urged that he be “kidnapped” and brought to court. He suggested that Turkey could abduct him.


650 Iranian missiles fired, 24 killed, and 10,800 Israeli strikes: The war in numbers
With a ceasefire in Iran taking effect early Wednesday morning, the full scope of the joint Israeli-American 40-day campaign against the Islamic Republic began to emerge.

Israel, on February 28, launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the United States, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders said.

Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on Israel continued until around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday. And the Israeli Air Force continued at the same time to bomb Iranian launchers and other military sites, before halting its fire.

The civilian toll
Iran, during the fighting, launched some 650 ballistic missiles at Israel. According to the military, more than half of the missiles carried cluster bomb warheads, which spread bomblets indiscriminately over wide areas.

The missile attacks killed 20 Israeli civilians and foreign nationals in Israel, along with four Palestinians in the West Bank. More than 7,000 people in Israel were injured, according to the Health Ministry.

On the first day of the war, Iran fired some 80 missiles at Israel. The following day, the Islamic Republic fired around 60, and on the third, around 30. Over the following weeks and until the final day of the war, Iran launched on average 10-20 missiles per day.

In all, at least 16 missiles carrying conventional warheads — with hundreds of kilograms of explosives — struck populated areas in Israel, causing extensive damage.

There were also some 50 incidents of missiles carrying cluster bomb warheads hitting populated areas, with hundreds of separate impact sites.

All 24 fatalities from Iran’s missile attacks were civilians, and all but two were not inside bomb shelters. Cluster munitions killed 10, and conventional missiles killed 14.

According to the Home Front Command, more than 5,500 Israelis were displaced due to damage caused to their homes by the attacks

Israel’s strikes and Iran’s remaining capabilities
The Israeli Air Force dropped over 18,000 bombs in Iran amid the war, in over 1,000 waves of strikes, the military said.

According to the IDF, over 10,800 separate strikes were carried out on over 4,000 targets, including air defense systems, ballistic missile launchers, weapon production sites, nuclear facilities, various headquarters, and military commanders and leaders.

IAF fighter jets conducted some 8,500 sorties to Iran, the military said.

The American military said that it alone carried out 13,000 strikes on Iranian military targets.

According to the military, Israel destroyed or disabled around 60% of Iran’s estimated 470 ballistic missile launchers. Around 200 of the launchers were destroyed in strikes, while another 80 were not considered to be operational after the IAF struck tunnel entrances to subterranean facilities where they are stored, according to the military.

At the start of the war, the IDF assessed that Iran had 2,500 ballistic missiles. IDF intelligence officials recently said they estimated that Iran still has around 1,000 missiles that are capable of reaching Israel.

In addition, the military assessed that its strikes have destroyed around 85% of Iran’s air defense and detection systems. More than 300 targets relating to Iran’s air defenses, including missile launchers and radars, were struck, the IDF said.

However, the most significant blow was to Iran’s weapon production industry, with the military reporting that it struck all of the key sites used to develop weapons that threaten Israel. Thousands of targets relating to Iran’s military production industry were destroyed, according to the IDF.


IDF soldier KIA in Southern Lebanon, bringing total war toll to 937
Israel Defense Forces Staff-Sgt. Touvel Yosef Lifshiz, 20, from the northern city of Beit She’an, was killed fighting Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon, the military announced on Wednesday night.

Lifshiz served in the 13th Battalion of the IDF’s Golani Brigade, the statement said. Five other soldiers sustained injuries of varying degrees and were evacuated to a hospital in Israel, it added.

The total death toll among Israeli troops since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre now stands at 937. Twelve IDF soldiers have been killed since the expansion of ground operations in Southern Lebanon in early March.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in response to the announcement that “our hearts are with the family of the heroic Golani soldier, Staff-Sgt. Touvel Yosef Lifshiz, of blessed memory, who fell in battle in Southern Lebanon.”

“We pray for the swift and full recovery of our soldiers who were wounded in the same incident, after fighting bravely against Hezbollah terrorists,” he stated. “We will continue to act with full force to remove the threat to the residents of the north. May the memory of Touvel, of blessed memory, be a blessing and be preserved forever.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in an X post extended his “heartfelt condolences” on behalf of the Jewish state’s defense establishment.

“I wish to send a speedy recovery to all the wounded heroes and to strengthen the commanders and soldiers of the IDF who are currently fighting bravely in Southern Lebanon and across the other fronts,” he tweeted. “May his memory be blessed.”


IDF launches largest strike on Hezbollah since start of ‘Roaring Lion’
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday carried out its largest coordinated strikes against Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon since the start of “Operation Roaring Lion,” hitting about 100 sites across multiple areas simultaneously within 10 minutes.

The large-scale wave of attacks targeted Hezbollah headquarters, military infrastructure and command-and-control centers in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and Southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli army.

The targets included intelligence command centers and central headquarters used to direct and plan attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians; infrastructure tied to Hezbollah’s rocket and naval units; and assets belonging to the Radwan Force and the Aerial (127) Unit.

The IDF said the operation was based on precise intelligence and had been planned over several weeks by the Operations Directorate, Intelligence Directorate, Israeli Air Force and Northern Command to “deepen the damage” to Iran’s Lebanese proxy.

“Most of the infrastructure that was struck was located within the heart of the civilian population, as part of Hezbollah’s cynical exploitation of Lebanese civilians as human shields in order to safeguard its operations,” the military said.

Prior to the strikes, measures were taken to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible, it added.

“The Hezbollah terror organization deliberately decided to join the war, operating on behalf of the Iranian terror regime while harming the State of Lebanon and its civilians. The State of Lebanon and its civilians must refuse Hezbollah’s entrenchment in civilian areas and its weapon build-up capabilities,” the IDF continued.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a recorded video that hundreds of terrorists were hit in the IAF surprise attack, which constituted “the largest concentrated strike Hezbollah has suffered since the ‘Pager Operation.’”


Hezbollah leader’s personal secretary killed in Beirut strike
The Israel Defense Forces eliminated the personal secretary of Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, the Israeli military said on Thursday.

Ali Yusuf Harshi “played a key role in managing and securing Qassem’s office,” according to the IDF.

The IDF said it also targeted “two key crossings used by Hezbollah terrorists and commanders for movement from north to south of the Litani River in Lebanon to transfer thousands of weapons, rockets and launchers” in overnight airstrikes.

“Furthermore, approximately 10 weapons storage facilities, launchers and command centers used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Southern Lebanon were struck,” it added.

The Israeli Air Force on Wednesday launched its largest coordinated strikes against Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon since the start of “Operation Roaring Lion” against Iran and its regional proxies on Feb. 28.

The large-scale wave of attacks targeted Hezbollah headquarters, military infrastructure and command-and-control centers in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and Southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli army.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address on Wednesday night said Hezbollah suffered “the greatest blow since the pagers,” in reference to the Sept. 17-18, 2024, attacks in Lebanon, which wounded thousands of terrorist operatives. “We attacked 100 targets in 10 minutes, in places Hezbollah was certain were immune,” he stated.


Hamas terrorist who doubled as ‘Al Jazeera’ reporter eliminated by IDF
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday killed a senior Hamas terrorist who doubled as a journalist for Qatar’s Al Jazeera outlet, the military said on Thursday.

Muhammad Samir Muhammad Washah served as a “key terrorist” in Hamas’s rocket and weapons production headquarters, according to the IDF. He was also said to be involved in “the production and transfer of weapons through Gaza.”

“The terrorist was actively involved in planning attacks against IDF troops and posed a concrete threat to forces in the area,” it stated.

Also on Wednesday, the IDF “identified and eliminated” a terrorist suspect who crossed the ceasefire line and approached soldiers in northern Gaza.

The terrorist “crossed the Yellow Line and approached the forces in the northern Gaza Strip, in a manner that posed a threat to them,” according to a statement.

The army emphasized that its troops remain deployed in the Strip under the terms of the U.S.-brokered Oct. 10, 2025, ceasefire agreement “and will continue to act to remove any immediate threat.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the IDF announced that it had killed Muhammad Dawad, an engineering and explosives expert in the Hamas terrorist organization, in a strike in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday.

During the war, Dawad was responsible for the production of explosive devices and served as a key authority in the execution of terrorist attacks, the IDF said, adding that he posed an immediate threat to soldiers.


Call me Back Podcast: Ceasefire at the 11th hour - with Nadav Eyal and Mark Dubowitz
Did Iran blink, or did the U.S. pull back too soon?

At the 11th hour, the U.S. and Iran agree to a two-week ceasefire, stepping back from a major escalation. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is set to resume under the ceasefire—but the core issues driving the war remain unresolved.

Dan is joined by Nadav Eyal and Mark Dubowitz to break down what was actually agreed to, why Israel’s security establishment is uneasy, and whether this pause reflects strategic success—or a missed opportunity.

Is this a real off-ramp…or just a temporary pause before the next phase?

In this episode:
03:15 - A Ceasefire at the Brink: What Was Actually Agreed
05:33 - The Strait of Hormuz: Reopening Under What Terms?
06:57 - The Missing Pieces: Nuclear Program and Missiles Still Unresolved
08:18 - Israel’s Alarm: Why the Security Establishment Is Worried
14:30 - Did Iran Blink—or Gain Leverage?
15:42 - Trump’s Red Lines: What Must a Final Deal Include?
21:21 - Political Risks: Israel, the U.S., and the Blame Game
35:24 - Endgames: Diplomacy, Regime Pressure, or Renewed War


The Free Press: Niall Ferguson: Iran Thinks It’s Winning. They Might Be Right.
Late last night, the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. But the first day has already proven rocky: Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel all reported missile and drone attacks from Iran; Israel carried out major air strikes against Hezbollah, raising questions about whether Lebanon is included in the ceasefire; and Iran is attaching a series of stringent conditions to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

All of this comes as U.S. and Iranian delegations are expected to meet in Pakistan on Saturday to discuss two competing peace plans whose provisions are fundamentally at odds with each other. The U.S. delegation will be led by Vice President J.D. Vance, who has expressed hesitance about the war from the very beginning.

It’s a crucial juncture in a war that has now stretched on for more than five weeks, with global ramifications. And few people are better suited to assess it than Free Press columnist Niall Ferguson. Today, I ask him: Who is winning this war? Will the Strait of Hormuz truly reopen? What would it mean if Iran imposed a transit fee and required vessels to coordinate passage with the Iranian military? How will the negotiations unfold? Can the administration come up with a deal that ends Iran’s control of the Strait? What does America misunderstand about Iran? And what has the Trump administration gotten wrong?


spiked: ‘We can’t make peace with a terrorist state’ | Ex-Israeli ambassador blasts ceasefire deal
Michael Oren – Israeli ambassador to the Obama administration – is the latest guest on _The Brendan O’Neill Show_. Michael and Brendan discuss Iran’s ceaseless war against the US, why Trump is losing credibility in the Middle East and how the West lost its way.


Commentary: Hormuz Tollbooth
Contributing editor Eli Lake is back along with National Review's Noah Rothman to discuss the newly announced ceasefire in the Iran War, and debate whether the United States has the upper hand in negotiations, and what the future of the region might look like. Plus, John recommends Daniel Okrent's Stephen Sondheim biography Art Isn't Easy.


Commentary: Cease Or No Cease
FDD's Jonathan Schanzer joins us again today to discuss the non-ceasefire in the Iran war, the gap between the American proposal and Iranian demands, who is even in charge of the Iranian government right now, and is JD Vance out of his depth as a negotiator, Pakistan's role as mediator. Plus, the Lebanon factor, Netanyahu's political future in Israel, and Christine recommends Damien Valdez's essay Chokepoints are the true crossroads of history.


Eli Lake: Why Iran’s Reform Movement Failed
Arash Azizi lived through the democracy movement in Iran before he wrote about it. Now a historian at Yale, he joins Eli Lake to trace the arc from former president Mohammad Khatami’s unlikely rise to the crushed hopes of the Green Movement—and what it tells us about whether reform from within the Islamic Republic was ever really possible.




Trump says he doesn’t respond to Tucker Carlson’s calls anymore
President Donald Trump hit back at Tucker Carlson on Tuesday after the far-right podcaster used his most recent show to accuse the president of steering the U.S. toward nuclear war with Iran and to suggest, in apocalyptic terms, that Trump might be waging a stealth attack on Christianity.

In a phone interview with the New York Post , Trump described Carlson as a “low IQ” individual who frequently tries to speak with him by phone, adding that he has stopped responding to his calls. .

“Tucker’s a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on,” Trump told the outlet of Carlson. “He calls me all the time. I don’t respond to his calls. I don’t deal with him. I like dealing with smart people, not fools.”

The remarks came in response to a lengthy monologue Carlson delivered on his Monday podcast. There, Carlson excoriated Trump for issuing an expletive-filled Truth Social post on Easter, in which the president warned that the U.S. was prepared to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran did not open the Strait of Hormuz.

Carlson called the post “vile on every level,” particularly for its language on a major Christian holiday, and framed it as the opening move toward nuclear conflict. He speculated that Trump might be pursuing something far larger than conventional military escalation — an effort to provoke Armageddon and undermine Christian faith.

“Is it possible that what you’re watching is a very stealthy yet incredibly effective attack on what, from a Christian perspective, is the true-faith belief in Jesus?” Carlson asked. “Is it possible the president sees this in bigger terms? Sees this as the fulfillment of something? An elevation to some higher office beyond president of the United States?”

“Is it just a conventional escalation ladder in a badly thought out war?” he continued. “Could it be something bigger? Is it possible what you’re watching is a very stealthy yet incredibly effective attack on what, from a Christian perspective, is the true faith: belief in Jesus?”


DNC resolution criticizing AIPAC involvement in primaries voted down in committee
Democratic Party activists on Thursday voted to reject a measure that criticized the involvement of AIPAC in Democratic primaries and the American political system.

The resolution was debated during a meeting of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules Committee at the DNC’s New Orleans meeting. Committee members were considering new policy resolutions, including one introduced by a Florida activist that took aim at AIPAC and the group’s “undue influence over democratic debate and policymaking.” It was voted down in a voice vote.

“The DNC made clear today that all Democrats, including millions who are AIPAC members, have the right to participate fully in the democratic process,” AIPAC spokesperson Deryn Sousa told Jewish Insider.

Jewish Democratic advocates who were in the meeting room praised the decision.

“We’re pleased that the resolution that wrongly singled out AIPAC was defeated, and that the other anti-Israel resolutions failed to move forward. These measures would be a gift to Republicans, would further fracture our party and do nothing to bring Israelis and Palestinians closer to peace,” Democratic Majority for Israel CEO Brian Romick, who attended the meeting, told JI after the vote.

Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said the group agrees with the goal of getting dark money out of politics but that AIPAC should not be targeted explicitly.

“We agree with the rejection of dark money in politics — a topic covered in another more expansive resolution adopted by the committee — but also believe that singling out any individual organization is both unproductive and unnecessarily divisive,” Soifer, who also attended the meeting, told JI.
El-Sayed Campaigns With UMich Board of Regents Candidate Who Shared Since-Deleted Posts Praising Hezbollah and Iranian Regime
The left-wing candidate for Senate in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, campaigned this week with a man running for the University of Michigan's board of regents who shared since-deleted X posts that celebrated late Hezbollah leaders as "martyr[s]" and called on the Iranian regime to "show no laxity" against Israel.

Amir Makled, a candidate for regent who introduced El-Sayed during a Senate campaign rally with pro-terrorist influencer Hasan Piker on Tuesday night, reposted a message from a Hezbollah fan account that called the terrorist group's slain former leader Hassan Nasrallah a "martyr" and mourned the death of Nasrallah's security chief, Abu al-Khalil, in an Israeli airstrike.

The Hezbollah fan account's post, which included an emoji of a broken heart, laments that "'Abu Ali Khalil,' the former aide to Hezbollah's Secretary-General Martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was martyred in an 'Israeli' strike in Tehran."

"May His Ascension rise High," the post, from last June, adds.

Makled reposted another post calling Khalil "a martyr on the road to Jerusalem" and referring to Nasrallah by the honorific "Sayed," which translates to "Master."

"Give our greetings to the Sayed," says the post. "A martyr on the road to Jerusalem, the armor of the Sayed. May god have mercy on your soul ya Abu Ali."

On the day Israel began its operation against the Islamic Republic last June, Makled retweeted a post from @IRIran_Military, a regime fan account, that called for Iran to "show no laxity in sacred war against the enemy."
Abdul El-Sayed, on Temple Israel terrorist: ‘Hurt people do hurt people’
At a Tuesday night event with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker at the University of Michigan, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed doubled down on claims that the man who attacked Temple Israel in West Bloomfield last month did so as a result of the pain he felt from the war in the Middle East.

“Nothing justifies the heinous attack that we saw on Temple Israel,” El-Sayed, a Democrat, said at a press conference alongside Piker, with whom he appeared at two campaign rallies in Michigan on Tuesday. “I also think it’s just critical for us to understand that hurt people do hurt people, and the circumstances happening 6,000 miles away can affect the lives that we live here, and if we stand against violence, we’ve got to stand against violence, all violence.”

El-Sayed’s comments reiterated a sentiment he expressed the day after a Lebanese American man drove a car packed with explosives into the synagogue. No one lost their lives in the incident. The assailant, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after shooting at a security guard, had family members killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon — including his brother, a commander in Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia.

Since El-Sayed’s initial statement, more details surrounding the attack have surfaced. The FBI said the attack was “a Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting the Jewish community.”

When a reporter from The Free Press pressed El-Sayed on his claim, asking whether a similar argument would have allowed sympathy for a Jewish person attacking a mosque after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel, he suggested the circumstances were not the same.

“After Oct. 7, there was a whole genocide against Palestinians,” El-Sayed said.
Abdul El-Sayed emphasizes anti-Israel rhetoric at rallies with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker
Far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, leftist streamer Hasan Piker and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Summer Lee (D-PA) dismissed criticism of Piker and his past antisemitic and anti-American comments at a rally at the University of Michigan on Tuesday — El-Sayed’s second event of the day with the controversial social media influencer.

The El-Sayed endorsers all brushed off the criticism of Piker’s record of antisemitic comments, support for terrorism and other controversial activity as a distraction from their message and other issues of the day, including the war in Iran.

“A lot of the people that are on the Republican side, the reactionary side, they, instead of talking about [the war in Gaza], decided to talk about me stumping for Abdul El-Sayed instead,” Piker said, dismissing criticism of him — which has come from Democrats as well — as a distraction.

Piker referred to the war in Iran as “Operation Epstein’s Fury” and the Trump administration as “a bunch of fascist monsters that got tuned up by Israel,” and closed out his remarks with “Free Palestine.”

“Every single dollar that is spent on a bomb is stolen from each and every one of you. That’s $1 that they spend blowing up a school overseas instead of building schools in your neighborhoods,” he continued, going on to blame support for Israel for the lack of universal healthcare in the United States, and to claim that U.S. taxpayers are paying for Israel’s healthcare system.

El Sayed said that he had heard that a pro-Israel group on campus planned to protest the rally — to boos from the crowd — but El-Sayed said that the group would be welcome in the room “because at the end of the day, we believe in the courage of our convictions and our ideals.”
Outrage as Holocaust survivor, 86, priced out of NYC says Mamdani SKIPPED scheduled housing meeting
An elderly Holocaust survivor says New York City's left-wing Mayor Zohran Mamdani skipped a scheduled meeting to discuss his dire living situation.

Sami Steigmann was born in Romania and deported to a Nazi labor camp at just two years old, and was subjected to medical experimentation for at least three years.

After WWII, Steigmann lived in Israel and served in the Israeli Air Force. In 1968, he moved to the United States, and has called the Big Apple home since 1988, according to his biography.

Now, at 86, Steigmann said he has been priced out of his Harlem apartment and is struggling to find a safe place to live.

At the beginning of the year, Steigmann scheduled a meeting with the pro-Palestine mayor, who campaigned on affordable housing.

Steigmann has now revealed that Mamdani bailed on the meeting.

'Promises made, not kept. His claim to fame was affordable housing. I'm not disappointed because I didn't expect him to keep his word. It is what it is,' Steigmann told Fox News.

'It would have been nice, but you know politicians,' he said, adding that he was no longer interested in the meeting.

Steigmann said he is struggling to find an apartment that is safe for his medical condition and accessible to public transportation.


Allianz sues Palestine Action activists for £300k over Elbit protests
One of the world’s largest insurers has launched a landmark civil case against six activists accused of targeting its UK offices over links to Israel’s defence sector.

German firm Allianz is seeking close to £300,000 in damages following two protests claimed by campaign group Palestine Action, in what is understood to be the first time alleged participants in the group’s direct action tactics have faced civil proceedings of this kind.

The demonstrations, which took place in October 2024 and March 2025, focused on Allianz’s reported provision of insurance services to the UK arm of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest private arms manufacturer.

During the protests, red paint was sprayed across Allianz sites in Guildford and the City of London, with activists also scaling buildings and displaying banners calling on the company to cut ties with Elbit.

Allianz subsequently confirmed it had ended its relationship with Elbit Systems UK last year.
Anti-Israel activist admits to torching 11 NYPD vehicles in arson spree
An anti-Israel rabble-rouser admitted to torching nearly a dozen NYPD vehicles last summer at a court hearing packed with a crew of fervent supporters.

Jakhi McCray, 22, pleaded guilty at Brooklyn Federal Court on Wednesday as part of a plea deal for the June 12 arson of 10 squad cars and a trailer in a designated NYPD parking lot in Bushwick.

The Brooklyn activist calmly answered all of Judge Seth Eichenholtz’s questions and even flashed grins as roughly 15 of his supporters sat in the courtroom.

“On June 12th, I knowingly and willingly set fire to NYPD vehicles,” McCray told the courtroom.

The admitted vandalizer caused roughly $800,000 in damages after scaling the fence of the locked lot and going on a 30-minute arson attack, according to court papers.

An NYPD officer spotted him escaping the scene of the raging inferno through a hole in the fence, prosecutors said. He eventually turned himself in to the police on July 21.

Following his guilty plea Wednesday, McCray stepped out of the courthouse holding a flower bouquet and sporting a black mask alongside his crew of occasionally rowdy supporters.


Greens drop candidate after JN exposes 7 Oct conspiracy posts and hostage tribute attack
The Green Party has dropped a local election candidate after Jewish News revealed he posted “false flag” lies about October 7 and tore down hostage solidarity balloons.

A Green Party spokesperson confirmed to Jewish News last night: “We can confirm that Bernard Mani is no longer a Green Party candidate.”

The embarrassing decision came only hours after Zack Polanski had launched the Greens’ election campaign in south London, where he chose to focus on condemnation of Israel at the start of his speech rather than local matters.

Mani had been set to stand in the Forest Hill ward in the London borough of Lewisham at next month’s election, but the revelations provoked widespread anger and calls for party deputy leader Zack Polanski to remove him as a candidate.

Video footage showed Mani pulling down balloons at a display intended to raise awareness of the plight of Israeli hostages, held in Hove, Sussex, just one month after Hamas carried out its attacks in southern Israel.

Social media posts purportedly from Mani also appear to show him backing claims that Israel “killed its own people” on 7 October and then “covered it up to justify genocide.”

Responding to a post showing a photo of a man holding a placard making the “false flag” claims, Mani wrote “Yes” in response to another poster asking, “Is this true?”


Man pleads guilty to planning mass-terror plot against Jews in New York
A man has pled guilty to planning acts of terrorism against the Jewish community in New York city, talking about his desire to “slaughter” Jews in an attack which was planned for the one-year anniversary of the Hamas 7 October mass-terror attacks.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, a Pakistani national who was residing in Canada at the time, was arrested in early September 2024 as he was travelling to cross the border into the United States.

As described by the US Justice Department, Khan, 21, began displaying online support for ISIS from November 2023, including “distributing ISIS propaganda videos and literature”. This led to Khan communicating with individuals in the US, discussing his intentions to carry out a terror attack against Jews in America. Khan was unaware that he was communicating with undercover members of law enforcement.

The justice department described how Khan had attempted to get those he was communicating with to buy guns and ammunition to carry out the attack against Jews, as well as knives, to “slit their throats”.

According to the government, Khan instructed the undercover officers to obtain assault rifles, ammunition, and other materials in order to carry out the attack, telling them that he had identified a human smuggler who could help him cross the border from Canada into the US. Initially he set out his intentions to “target Israeli Jewish chabads… scattered around the city,” without naming the city in question. However, Khan later specifically identified a Brooklyn Jewish community centre as the target, telling undercover officers, “”New York is perfect to target Jews because it has the largest Jewish population in America. Even if we don’t attack an event, we could easily rack up a lot of Jews… we are going to slaughter them.”
Arrest made in Jewish restaurant shooting small step in right direction
One down and at least 11 more arrests to go as police continue to probe suspected antisemitic or hate-motivated incidents across the city.

You have to start somewhere. Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw’s announcement Wednesday of the arrest of a man accused of shooting up a north Toronto restaurant is a step in the right direction to help stop the city from sliding into a no-go zone for Jews.

If there are too many more of these terror attacks on synagogues, Jewish schools or businesses, a no-go zone it will become.

“We don’t want this kind of violence in Toronto,” the chief said at a news conference, adding his investigators will “continue to hunt down whoever is responsible for this and other similar shootings in our city.”

Most of them remain unsolved.

In the Passover shooting incident at Old Avenue Restaurant on Avenue Rd. near Brooke Ave., police announced the arrest of Mohamed Mahdi, 35, of Brampton, who has been charged with four gun-related offences including “discharge of a restricted firearm.”


Met Police makes more than 20 arrests following antisemitic hate crime crackdown
More than 20 people across London have been arrested on suspicion of antisemitic hate crimes as part of a specialist operation by the Met, with the police also confirming that they have increased their resources dedicated to investigating hate crime.

The operation, as described by the police, has been focused on “protecting key locations, detecting suspicious activity and disrupting those intent on causing communities harm”. Cases have also been prioritised so as to be investigated as soon as possible.

The Met also said that following last month’s arson attack in Golders Green, its representatives also meeting regularly with community leaders to share intelligence and act swiftly on any concerns.

Those charged through the operation included Jean Charles Tavius, 26 (06.01.1990) of Hackney, who was charged with 11 counts of racially or religiously aggravated threatening behaviour, criminal damage and racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage. The Met said that an investigation was launched after officers were called to reports of a man shouting antisemitic abuse and throwing a rock at the window of a moving car. Tavius was arrested on Tuesday, 24 March and has been remanded. He is due to next appear at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 6 May.

Another individual, Munir Saleh, 29 (22.04.1996) of Tottenham, was charged six counts of racially or religiously aggravated threatening behaviour, assault by beating and common assault. The police confirmed they had begun their investigation after officers were called to reports of a man shouting antisemitic abuse and spitting at people. Saleh was arrested on Sunday, 5 April and has been remanded. He is due to appear at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 7 May.


EU-backed ‘Josephus’ archive opens digital access to centuries of Greek Jewish history
A recently-launched E.U.-backed digital archive documenting the history of Greek Jews is offering free public access to more than 212,000 documents and over two million digital records, the European Jewish Congress said this week.

The Iossipos (“Josephus”) project, named after the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, has been implemented by the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki with roughly €4 million ($4.3 million) in funding from Brussels’ National Strategic Reference Framework 2021–2027 program.

Described by its developers as a landmark effort in cultural preservation, the website brings together archival material chronicling more than three millennia of Jewish presence in Greece, including Romaniote (Greek-speaking), Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities.

Thessaloniki, once known as the “Jerusalem of the Balkans” following the arrival of Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, became a major center of Jewish life before the Holocaust devastated its population. Beginning in March 1943, more than 50,000 Jews were deported from the city to Nazi destruction camps, with fewer than 2,000 surviving.

Much of the community’s archives were lost in the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917, which destroyed most of the city, or later stolen by Nazi Germany. Portions were recovered after WWII and held in institutions including Russia’s state archives, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, before being digitized and consolidated in the new repository.

The Iossipos initiative is centered around an online platform featuring historical documents, photographs, oral testimonies and audio materials, alongside interactive tools such as maps, augmented reality exhibits and a 3D reconstruction of interwar Thessaloniki.

The website also incorporates a folklore atlas, educational resources and biographical profiles of notable Greek Jews, as well as a curated audio archive of Judeo-Spanish music drawn from rare private collections.




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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