Wednesday, June 17, 2026

06/16 Links Pt1: The US has emboldened Iran and abandoned Israel; The Iranian People Are Forgotten; Trump Pushes Israeli Restraint on Hizbullah, Iran

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Cyrus no more
The shock and distress in Israel are palpable. President Donald Trump’s apparent volte-face on Iran is being felt as an abandonment.

Israelis are used to the indifference or hostility of American presidents. They managed to survive the malevolent manipulation of the Obama administration and the intimidation and threats of the Bidenites.

But in Trump, here was a president who brought about something no-one had thought would happen — the United States and Israel fighting side by side to defeat one of the greatest evils in the world.

On that terrible day of October 7 2023, when Israel was subjected to a barbaric invasion that exposed its weakness against a seven-front attempt by Iran to exterminate it with hundreds of thousands of missiles pointing straight at it, who would have thought that within a couple of years Iran and Hezbollah would be on their knees with their senior ranks taken out, their missile stocks radically depleted, Iran’s air defences obliterated and its nuclear weapons programme, which had been on the cusp of coming to murderous fruition, set back by years.

It was Trump, to his enduring credit, who made that possible. Accordingly, he was hailed as a new Cyrus, the 6th century BCE Persian king who freed the Jews from captivity and helped rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.

Yet this week, the same Trump seemed to be pulling defeat from the jaws of victory. By signing an agreement with the very Iranian regime that he should have been continuing to destroy, he has instead thrown Tehran a lifeline; reduced America to a paper tiger; accordingly put a spring in the step of Russia, China and North Korea, as well as emboldening Islamists seeking to destroy the west — and having undermined Israel’s security, aggressively turned on Israel for presuming to defend itself.

The US not only excluded Israel from discussions leading up to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) but also, while currently keeping its terms secret from the world, has refused even to show them to the Jewish state.

That’s Israel, America’s close ally and indispensable “unsinkable aircraft carrier;” Israel, which Iran is making every effort to wipe off the face of the earth; Israel, whose soldiers have been dying not just to save their own country but in defence of an America that refuses to put its own troops in danger but is all too happy for Israelis to die in defence of itself and the free world.

Contrary to much misreporting, the MOU is not a deal that ends the war. It’s rather a framework for negotiations during a 60-day ceasefire. In a blizzard of claims and counter-claims, we don’t know what its terms are. But what’s undeniable is that Trump has chosen this moment, when the Iranian regime was weakening by the day, to take his knee off its windpipe by lifting the US blockade of Iranian ships. Going into the 60-day negotiation, he has thus chosen to make Iran stronger and the US weaker.
The US has emboldened Iran and abandoned Israel
The Islamic Republic of Iran kills its own people and sponsors terrorism in Israel, Lebanon, Britain and far beyond. The world will be a better place when this brutish regime is destroyed. Unfortunately, the reckless US assault on Iran has made this prospect even less likely than it was – at least in the short to medium term.

From the start of the war to last weekend’s ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Iran, the White House has acted like a child who spies a hornets’ nest, pokes it with a big stick, kills a few of the creatures while stirring up many more, and then runs back home to leave others to deal with the ferocious after-effects. And the Islamic Republic is a thousand times more lethal than the biggest nest of hornets.

Whatever peace deal is eventually agreed between the US and Iran over the following weeks, Israel’s security is the biggest loser from what began as a joint US-Israel operation. Indeed, in recent weeks, the White House has gone silent on two of Israel’s key goals, which it originally backed: destroying Iran’s ballistic-missile capabilities, and severing Tehran’s support to its terrorist proxies in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Yemen. A third objective – disabling Iran’s nuclear capabilities – has been pushed into the future on the crazy assumption that the words of the Islamic Republic can be trusted.

Nearly six weeks of air assaults did weaken the theocracy in some military aspects, though far less than the White House hyperbole claims. But the Iranian regime has also been emboldened by the war. It has shown that it can defy the US, albeit at the expense of the struggling Iranians it rules over.

With the regime left in place, it will soon rearm and refinance itself, maybe even with the help of maritime transit fees from the Strait of Hormuz and some easing of sanctions. Moreover, President Trump’s portrayal of the Islamic Republic as people he can make a deal with has given it an international legitimacy that it previously lacked. And by accepting Tehran’s incorporation of the Lebanese conflict into any peace deal, the White House has bolstered Iran’s aim of being recognised as a regional Middle Eastern power.

It is important now to absorb the lessons of this US-led calamity because it is very unlikely to be the last such rash military venture – especially as the US struggles to manage its decline from its hegemonic, superpower status.
Trump Ended the War on His Terms, Leaving Israel with the Consequences
The understandings reached between the U.S. and Iran are not a historic agreement and certainly not a new nuclear deal. They are mainly an American attempt to stop a war that Trump no longer wanted. The president needed an exit. Now he is presenting it as a victory. But most of the difficult issues have not been resolved.

The nuclear program has not been dismantled. The fate of the enriched uranium remains disputed. Oversight is unclear. The 60-day negotiation window that is now supposed to open does not guarantee a breakthrough. It is more likely to become a mechanism for delay and buying time. Trump, having already declared success, will find it difficult to quickly return to a full-scale war. The more likely scenario is prolonged management of indecision.

Israel emerges from this campaign stronger militarily, but more constrained diplomatically. It proved its ability to strike Iran and operate alongside the U.S., but it also learned that Washington decides when to stop, what counts as victory, and how much Israel will be able to keep operating the day after.

Israel sought a decision. Trump sought a victory image. That gap erupted around the Israeli strike in Dahieh. From Israel's perspective, it was part of the ongoing campaign against Hizbullah. From Trump's perspective, it was almost an act of sabotage against his diplomatic move.

Regional states will not rush to conclude that Iran is out of the game. They saw that the U.S. knows how to apply tremendous military force, but is not built, politically or economically, to conduct a prolonged war until full victory over Iran. Many of them will return to maintaining channels with Tehran, understanding that, even after a severe blow, Iran remains a player that cannot be ignored.

Israel's main concern now is freedom of action. Any Israeli operation against Iranian facilities, senior officials or strategic assets could be seen in Washington as an attempt to torpedo the agreement Trump is presenting as a personal achievement. In Lebanon, Israel may retain greater room to maneuver. But any significant strike in Dahieh or against Hizbullah will be examined through one question: Does it endanger the understandings with Iran?
Elliott Abrams: The Iranian People Are Forgotten
The American agreement with Iran completely abandons the Iranian people. In December and January, Iranians took to the streets in huge numbers in 200 cities. The regime responded with mass murder, shooting unarmed demonstrators and killing between 7,000 and 35,000. On June 13, President Trump posted: "We look forward to working with Iran." When he announced the deal with Iran the next day, Trump said, "I never cared about regime change. This is the third group we've dealt with, and this is the most rational group yet."

This is a strategic error of the greatest importance. It's obvious to Iranians, and should be to us, that the Islamic Republic is unreformable. Iran's rulers are the people who murdered thousands of their fellow citizens in cold blood a few months ago and more recently struck at economic and civilian targets of all their Gulf Arab neighbors as well as Israel.

The only long-run solution to Iran's aggression and repression is popular sovereignty. The new agreement will not change the Middle East because the Islamic Republic will always remain at the heart of the region's violence and instability. Its ruling elites have shown again and again that "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" are central pillars of their belief system.


NYPost Editorial: Trump’s Iran deal gives the Islamic Republic big wins upfront — and America nothing
Vice President JD Vance’s sales pitch for the Iran deal is simply terrible — but President Donald Trump’s may be worse.

Maybe the reporting on what’s in the Memorandum of Understanding is wrong, but Team Trump keeps confirming some of the worst news.

As best we can tell, the deal does nothing to achieve the aims America started the war with — but does hand Tehran a whole series of gains.

Iran gets at least a few billion in immediate funds and can start selling oil right away, with at least some other sanctions dropped as well.

More, Tehran wins unprecedented authority over the Strait of Hormuz and likely locks in Hezbollah’s dominance of Lebanon.

Recall our goals: The prez opened combat seeking to permanently end Iran’s nuclear threat, and also eliminate its missiles and other offensive capabilities, and we also hoped for regime change.

The bombing set back its nuke programs, took out a lot of missiles and missile factories and decapitated most of the regime’s top leadership.

All the talks since the start of April have done nothing more — indeed, have only let new Iranian leaders rebuild and regroup, even as the populace suffers.

Why think they’ll change in another 60 days of talking?

Vance’s happy case is that the big prizes for Iran are contingent on its behavior; as he said on “Hannity”: “If they’re willing to behave like a normal country,” quit chasing nukes and funding terror, “then we are willing to actually fundamentally transform our relationship with them.”

But that’s been true ever since the 1979 revolution, and the regime has never gone for it.
WSJ Editorial: Trump Stages an Iran Retreat
To reopen the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump is accepting Iran's promises merely to negotiate over its nuclear program. Mr. Trump's willingness to use military force when no one else would has set back Iran's nuclear program, military and industrial base. The result isn't "Obama deal 2.0" because, unlike in 2015, Iran's key nuclear facilities are in rubble and its enrichment of uranium has been halted for the first time in 20 years. Those who say Trump had no alternative ignore that the U.S. blockade was squeezing Iran more by the day, while Iran's blockade was leaking.

The memorandum of understanding would defer most matters of the nuclear program to 60 more days of talks, with oil and other sanctions relief along the way in exchange for diplomatic progress. This linkage is crucial, but pushing off the most difficult nuclear issues in talks with "dishonorable people" who don't deal "in good faith," as the President called them on Friday, doesn't inspire confidence. If the regime won't agree to dismantle its nuclear program now, why would it do so after weeks of oil exports and other relief?

Iran's new leaders are likely to conclude that Mr. Trump has no desire for more conflict, and they will negotiate accordingly. Congress should scrutinize any final agreement made with Iran - and reject it if it props up a regime that still says "death to America."
Tehran's Strategy Worked
On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced a framework agreement with Iran to end the 15-week conflict. The agreement represents a dramatic shift in the Middle East's strategic balance. Iran stood up to the world's strongest power and emerged with an agreement enhancing its regional influence across the Persian Gulf.

Gulf states, clear American allies, now understand that Iranian bullying ultimately pays off. They are paying the price in cash through extortion, threats, and only partial American protection. They have also internalized another lesson: there is only one country capable of effectively confronting Iran - Israel.

Beijing has drawn a clear lesson from the Iran episode: the U.S. does not necessarily have to be defeated on the battlefield. It can be pressured, and in some cases strategically outmaneuvered, through economic leverage. Europeans and Japanese are rushing to align with the agreement. Europe continues to believe that money and economic concessions will protect it from Iranian terror.

The U.S. is working to dismantle Hizbullah in Lebanon, while at the same time the agreement grants it a significant lifeline through Iranian rehabilitation. The deal projects American weakness that encourages Iran's proxies to recover and strengthen.

For Israel, the Shiite axis has been weakened but not defeated. Tehran has historically viewed ceasefires as opportunities to rearm, reorganize, and prepare for the next confrontation. If it uses the coming months to rebuild its missile arsenal, advance its nuclear ambitions, or strengthen its proxy network, Israel will act again - alone if necessary.
Seth Frantzman: Why Iran favors prolonged diplomacy in US preliminary deal talks
Iran and the US have signed a preliminary deal. However, as The Guardian noted, the actual deal is heading for a “second phase.” Indeed, most of the reports this week leave a lot of questions about the actual Memorandum that has been signed electronically. And that’s not to mention the questions about what the extension of a 60-day ceasefire will mean.

These variables appear to be what Iran prefers. Iran has always preferred the slower processes. Iran likely believes that it benefits from drawing out the process and from more complications, not less. The more complex the deal-making process becomes, the harder it is for the US to walk away. Every variable that is introduced opens a potential talking point in the future.

Even if Iran is violates some of its promises, it can always point to the other parts of the deal it has adhered to as examples of how it is keeping in line with expectations.

This has been Iran’s modus operandi when it comes to deal-making. In fact, Iran did this exact same thing during the talks for the 2015 deal.

Iran has always believed that time is on its side. It also knows that many countries in the region prefer diplomacy over further conflict. As such, Iran knows that Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Oman, and other countries will help raise Iran’s case in Washington or in other places.

The potential US-Iran deal has garnered widespread praise from around the world, which proves that the international community also prefers talks to conflict.

The US-Iran agreement is supposed to see an end to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz sooner rather than later. This would allow for economic growth and increased trade. Once this is accomplished, it will be difficult to return to war because other countries don’t want more chaos in the region.

It is for this reason that Iran seeks to draw out the process. Tehran is hoping to trigger a number of shifts in the region that will cement the diplomatic track into place. Once that has occurred, there will be much resistance to a new conflict.

The White House seemingly believes that diplomacy is better than war. It has preferred lower-level strikes since the April ceasefire, rather than a return to all-out war. This is also what Iran prefers.
Seth Frantzman: Trump says Israel 'fighting Hezbollah too long' as Lebanon war drags on
US President Donald Trump appears frustrated with Israel’s continued conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Over the last few weeks, the American president has several times suggested that Israel shouldn’t be attacking Beirut because this is leading to tensions with Iran regarding a US-Iran deal.

Now, Trump is also saying that Israel has been fighting in Lebanon for too long. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has dragged on for 981 days since Hezbollah attacked Israel on October 8. Israel has not been able to defeat Hezbollah or achieve a decisive victory.

“Israel is fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed,” President Trump said, according to a June 16 post on X/Twitter by Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst.

“You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody. There are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah,” Trump went on to say.

US President Donald Trump was born on June 14, 1946. When the Six-Day War began, he was 20 years old, and he would have turned 21 a few days after the war ended on June 10, 1967. As such, it’s plausible that the Six Day War was a formative memory for a young Trump.

Israel’s rapid victories back then were part of the doctrine of Israel's founders. Led by young generals such as Lt. Gen. Yitzhak Rabin, Uzi Narkiss, David Elazar, Yeshayahu Gavish, Ariel Sharon, and Israel Tal, Israel vanquished three armies in six days.

This was a decisive victory. Even in 1973, when Israel suffered an initial setback, the country quickly defeated the Egyptian and Syrian armies in two weeks of tough combat. When Israel launched the 1978 and 1982 invasions of Lebanon, the IDF covered more ground in 48 hours than it had covered in 982 days of fighting since 2023.

Trump likely remembers all these conflicts, and although he is not seen as a deep student of history in terms of being a major consumer of books, Trump has a keen memory for formative events. He is also a supporter of Israel.

However, Trump believes support of Israel also means doing what is in Israel’s interests, not just praising Israel and never telling its leaders “no.”

Trump has said that he suggested that Syria take care of Hezbollah. He knows that the Syrian rebel group HTS defeated the Assad regime in a week in 2024. He wonders why it has taken Israel so long to defeat Hezbollah.


‘Without me, there would be no Israel,’ Netanyahu ‘has to be more responsible’ with Lebanon, Trump says at G7
Amid extensive controversy and speculation about the contents of a memorandum of understanding with the Iranian regime, which U.S. President Donald Trump announced without providing much detail, the president said on Tuesday that he is likely to hold a press conference and read the “word by word, so that the press covers it accurately.”

“We just signed a deal with Iran,” he told reporters at the G7 summit in France during a meeting with United Arab Emirates President Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

“Ships are starting to move now,” he said. “Oil is starting to go up, and prices are coming down rapidly.”

“Most importantly, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” he claimed.

The president was asked why he might wait until Friday to release the text of the agreement. “I would like to get a formal setting first,” he said. “I will go over the document with the media in a couple of days.”

Trump said that he “never cared about regime change.”

“But I guess you have regime change,” he said, of Iran. “The first group—they are all dead. The second group—-they are dead. A part of the third group is gone, and we are dealing with people I think are rational people.”

“I think smarter than the first and second group. They are not radicalized and looking to help their country,” he said. “I have watched regime change for years. They never worked.”


Jake Wallis Simons: JD Vance has just confirmed our worst fears about Trump’s Iran deal
Six years ago, Donald Trump was spot-on. “Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!” he posted on X. Fast forward to the present and he is fast becoming a victim of his own truisms.

For all Iran’s multifarious cunning, its negotiation team has always relied upon one basic trick: strategic delay. Remember how it strung Joe Biden along? Eighteen months of fruitless talks enriched the Islamist theocracy and left the old duffer with the square root of sod-all.

Plus ça change. From the Algiers Accords of 1981 – which confirmed that hostage-taking could extract concessions from a major power – through the Tehran Declaration and Paris Agreement of the early Noughties to Barack Obama’s nuclear deal, the playbook has always been the same. The goal of Western collapse remains intact, while deals with Washington are used to buy time, money and tactical advantage.

So to JD Vance. Speaking to CNN, the vice-president admitted that the “memorandum of understanding”, which Donald Trump has heralded with such palpable relief, was “very general”, stretching only to “about a page-and-a-half”.

It contained a vague commitment to “regional peace and stability”, he said, and a “commitment to not building a nuclear weapon”, but “on a number of issues, we are going to have to figure this stuff out”. Looks like the master of the deal has been played as badly as the presidents that came before him.

In fact, he has probably been played worse. Details have yet to emerge – indeed, as Benjamin Netanyahu put it in a press conference yesterday, “we still don’t know what the agreement will be” – but yesterday, Vance told Fox News that the regime could be in line for an astonishing $300bn “reconstruction fund”.

To put that in Iranian terms, given that Hezbollah’s annual budget from Tehran’s coffers is about $1bn, it could fund the Lebanese proxy until 2326.
Iranian Officials Portray Peace Deal as Strategic Victory over U.S. and Israel
Iran on Monday declared it had won "great victories" over the U.S. after an agreement to end the conflict, with Iranian officials portraying the deal as a military and political triumph rather than a diplomatic compromise.

"The enemy that had attacked to carry out its evil aims was defeated in all its aims," said Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.

Iranian state television, IRIB, framed the ceasefire as a result of military pressure exerted by Tehran, saying Iranian forces had imposed their "divine and iron will" on the "American and Zionist enemies."

Iran's adversaries had "no path other than accepting defeat and surrender."

IRGC Deputy Commander for Political Affairs Brig.-Gen. Yadollah Javani told Fars News, "The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic are ready to respond to any act of mischief with their eyes open and fingers on the trigger."

He said Iran's retaliatory operations and its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz had forced its adversaries to halt military operations, and that Iran had emerged from the conflict stronger than before.
IDF, Mossad Largely Oppose Iran Deal, Favor Continued Sanctions Against Tehran
The vast majority of top IDF and Mossad officials oppose the emerging Iran nuclear deal as insufficient in light of the "blood and treasure" invested and the threats confronting Israel, the Jerusalem Post has learned.

The IDF and Mossad had hoped for progress on the issues of ballistic missiles and terrorist proxies, which they have had to deal with on a daily basis for years, but these issues have been left out of the deal.

Many senior Mossad officials and some IDF officers believe it is important to keep Iran under sanctions until the regime stops threatening Israel or until it is toppled.

Some believe the Iranian regime likely would fall within the year if financial sanctions pressure remains. But with billions expected to stream to the regime, any prospect of regime change could be delayed.
Trump Pushes Israeli Restraint on Hizbullah, Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump is "normalizing fire at Israel," an Israeli official said on Sunday, as Washington pressed Israel to avoid responding if Iran launches missiles in retaliation for an Israeli strike in Beirut. The IDF struck in Beirut's Dahieh district after Hizbullah launched drones toward Israel. Trump described the Hizbullah attack as "very small and meaningless" because no one was hurt.

Israeli officials said the U.S. position was unfair and did not reflect the way an ally should be treated. They said Washington was ignoring repeated Hizbullah violations of Israeli sovereignty and tying Israel's hands in the face of ongoing fire. Officials in Jerusalem said Trump had demanded that Netanyahu not only halt fire in Lebanon but also begin a withdrawal. Netanyahu rejected the demands.

Israel also pushed back against U.S. claims that the Dahieh strike was intended to disrupt a pending agreement with Iran. Israeli officials said drones fired into Israel reached near the western Galilee community of Shlomi. An Israeli official noted that "when the Iranians downed an American helicopter, Trump ordered a harsh response even though there were no casualties."
A Forever Defeat By Abe Greenwald
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I know that the promotion of human rights is now for sissies, but the U.S. also facilitated miraculous progress in alleviating mass suffering for the people of both countries. Scoff at that if you must, but Donald Trump is the one who told the Iranian people that help was on the way. Which means he’s now notched a total defeat for them as well.

You may think that the cost of victory in Iraq and Afghanistan was too high—and you may very well be right. But don’t tell me that our current surrender to the Iranian regime was worth tens of billions of taxpayer dollars (with billions more soon to come) and the lives of 15 American service members. If we wanted to tell Iran (and the world) that it finally won its near-50-year battle with the U.S., we could have done that for free.

Of course, the total cost of a consequential defeat is unknowable in the moment. We don’t know what Iran will do with its forthcoming billions or the nuclear “dust” or its dug-up missiles or its demonstrated ability to close the Strait of Hormuz at will. And we don’t know what will follow the actions the regime will take. At the time of Biden’s effective surrender in Afghanistan, we didn’t know that Russia would read it as a signal to invade Ukraine six months later. And we still don’t know the ultimate cost of that war.

Because the price of defeat is compounded by an unpredictable series of chain reactions. The costs accrue as history continues to play out. Or, one might say, forever.


Vance touts Iran deal, stresses compliance leverage
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in a coordinated round of media appearances on Monday, promoted the Trump administration’s forthcoming memorandum of understanding with Iran as a conditional agreement centered on verification, economic incentives and the dismantling of Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.

Vance repeatedly emphasized that any benefits to Iran would be contingent on compliance. “All of these things come along with benefits if Iran delivers—and nothing if Iran doesn’t deliver,” he told CNN, adding that the United States retains “the leverage here” to deny economic relief absent Iranian commitments.

A central theme was the elimination of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. In an interview with Fox News, Vance said the U.S. would work with international partners and Iran “to destroy that stockpile of enriched material,” describing it as a step that would further set back Tehran’s nuclear program. He added that Iran is “agreeing right now to eliminate the enriched stockpile,” warning that failure to halt enrichment would mean forfeiting “the other benefits of the bargain.”

Vance also underscored verification mechanisms, confirming to NBC News that international inspectors would play a key role. “One of the core parts of the agreement is that the IAEA and the United States are going to help Iran destroy the highly enriched stockpile,” he said, calling the deal “built around verification.”

In each appearance, Vance framed the agreement as a pathway to broader normalization if Iran alters its regional behavior. He told CNN that the deal requires Tehran to “stop funding violent terrorist organizations” and commit, in a “verifiable” way, to never building a nuclear weapon, while offering reintegration into the global economy if it complies.


Araghchi: End of IDF ops in Lebanon ‘inseparable’ part of US deal
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that the memorandum of understanding Tehran signed with the United States necessitates a cessation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon.

“The end of the war in Lebanon is an inseparable part of complete end of the war,” Araghchi was quoted as saying by state media. “Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end.”

He warned that any Israel Defense Forces operations in Lebanon would be considered by Tehran as a violation of the deal with Washington.

In phone calls Monday with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is aligned with Iranian-backed Hezbollah, Araghchi emphasized the need for a “complete cessation” of Israeli attacks across the region.

Aoun and Berri “expressed appreciation for the inclusion of provisions related to ending the war against Lebanon in the text of the memorandum,” reported the Tasnim News Agency, a semi-official outlet associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Hezbollah on Monday night fired “numerous rockets” toward IDF soldiers in Southern Lebanon, in violation of a separate ceasefire with Beirut.

The Israeli Air Force intercepted the projectiles and no air-raid sirens were activated in Israeli territory “in accordance with protocol,” the military stated.


Israeli Air Force chief confirms ‘broad strike’ on Iran called off at last minute
Jerusalem had prepared a large-scale strike on Iran that was canceled just one hour before takeoff, Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Omer Tishler revealed in a letter to IAF personnel on Tuesday.

The sequence followed an earlier strike in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut, after which Iran launched dozens of missiles toward Israel. The IAF responded with strikes deep inside Iran, hitting dozens of targets and damaging air defenses and regime assets.

Tishler then described a second, far larger operation that had been fully prepared for the following day.

“The next day, in the afternoon, the entire air force was ready to take off for a broad strike sortie. Hours before the order to take off, while shortening the alert period, demonstrating exceptional flexibility, arming the entire air force, planning, preparing and being ready for takeoff to strike hundreds of targets in the heart of Iran, the strike was stopped while we were briefing the squadrons,” he wrote.

Tishler noted that a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran coincided with the decision to halt the operation, though he did not specify who issued the final order. Reports in Israel said the cancellation followed coordinated diplomatic pressure aimed at preventing escalation.

These reports claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump were involved in urging de-escalation, leading to the cancellation of the planned strike amid broader efforts to stabilize the situation.
Israeli Supreme Court rejects challenge to detention of Gaza hospital chief
Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Hussam Abu Safiya, a Hamas terrorist who ran Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, against his ongoing detention, Haaretz reported.

The full text of Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz’s ruling had yet to be released, according to the Hebrew daily.

The court ordered his continued detention under the Unlawful Combatants Law without requiring prosecutors to file an indictment.

Abu Safiya was taken into Israel Defense Forces custody as a terrorist suspect during an arrest raid targeting a Hamas command center in the northern Gaza hospital on Dec. 28, 2024.

The hospital director has been held in solitary confinement at Israel’s Nafha Prison, a maximum-security facility located near Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev Desert.

Israeli researchers earlier this year located a 2016 photo of Abu Safiya in a Hamas “military” uniform at a ceremony marking the completion of Kamal Adwan Hospital. His picture appeared on the Gaza Medical Services’ Facebook page, a group operating under the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

The NGO Monitor research group said Abu Safiya’s social media posts also appeared to praise the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and included anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric.


Israeli forces destroy weapons-making lathes in Samaria counterterror raids
The Israel Defense Forces destroyed over a dozen lathes used for manufacturing weapons during a nightly counter-terrorism operation in Samaria, the military said on Tuesday.

In the “targeted overnight counterterrorism” raid on Sunday, IDF reservists and combat engineering units disabled 18 “lathes used for manufacturing weapons, including firearms and explosive devices, which were found in the heart of a civilian area,” the army stated.

The raids in the Nablus (Shechem) area also saw Israeli forces confiscate weapon parts, according to the statement.

Last week, Israel security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle dozens of weapons in the Jordan Valley area, and apprehended a suspect in his 20s involved in the case.

The operation was carried out by IDF troops, the Judea and Samaria Border Police and officers of the Judea and Samaria District Police, after picking up on indications of preparations for a weapons smuggling attempt across the Jordan border, a statement read.

In total, 23 Glock pistols, three Kalashnikov rifles, one M16 rifle and additional weapons were confiscated and transferred to the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District for further investigation, along with the suspect from Bethlehem, the IDF and Israel Police said.

Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 5,051 times in 2025, according to data published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO.
Commentary Podcast: Vance Macabre
Contributing editor Eli Lake is back to discuss the MOU with Iran, which has seemed to receive universal condemnation from everyone except vice president JD Vance, who is engaged in a widespread media tour to sell a deal whose details remain unknown. Plus, the indictments of Pro-Palestinian activists at the University of Michigan for their campaign of threats and intimidation.
‘Not exactly a victory’: Peace deal leaves Netanyahu looking weak
Former Israeli ambassador to Australia Mark Sofer believes the agreement is far from a victory for Israel and could damage Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at home and abroad.

“What we do know is that it’s clearly not exactly a victory for the Netanyahu approach, which will definitely harm him,” Mr Sofer told Sky News host Andrew Bolt.

“Now that Iran will probably get the way with all, the military and more importantly, the financial way with all.

“This is pretty much a short-term victory if at all.”




Iranians protest against regime at opening World Cup match and chant ‘Death to the Islamic Republic’ during national anthem
Iran’s opening World Cup match in Los Angeles was overshadowed by angry protests against the Islamic Republic, as anti-regime demonstrators booed the team inside and outside the stadium.

Despite Iranian state television claiming that the players had been welcomed by supporters before the match against New Zealand, dozens of videos posted on social media appeared to show Iranians jeering them and chanting slogans against the administration.

Los Angeles, known among Iranians in the United States as ‘Tehrangeles’, is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran, and has long been a centre of opposition to the Islamic Republic.

Anti-regime activists said Tehran had sought to avoid visible protests by pressing FIFA and US authorities to restrict the presence of dissident supporters at the match.

FIFA banned the pre-revolutionary Lion and Sun flag, which has become a widely used symbol among opponents of the present government.

But protesters still managed to sneak the flags into the Los Angeles Stadium, while others wore shirts bearing its colours.

Footage shared online appeared to show stadium security confiscating some flags.

In other videos, protesters were seen carrying separate pieces of fabric in the colours of the historic Iranian flag, apparently to avoid detection, before stitching them together inside the stadium.

When the Islamic Republic’s anthem was played, hundreds of Iranians turned their backs.

Chants of “Death to the Islamic Republic” and “Long live the king” could also be heard, the latter a slogan used by supporters of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s late Shah and a leading opposition figure in exile.





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Reclaiming the Covenant on America's 250th (May 2026)

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    

 

 



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Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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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