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As Iran and Israel traded missile strikes back and forth throughout the weekend, each has suffered significant damage—the former of the material kind, the latter of the conceptual kind.
Though 24 Israeli civilians have been killed and over 500 injured, the largest casualty in the Zionist regime’s eyes may be the words being spoken between Israelis—that despite what military and political leaders have suggested, they are not safe from Iranian reprisals.
Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge in weaponry, aided by a staggering level of deception by the Trump Administration which kept the Iranian regime from suspecting an attack due to vigorous, fictional diplomacy, wreaked a significant level of havoc on Iran’s civilian nuclear program, military leadership, oil refining capabilities, and civilian population.
Trita Parsi, a senior fellow of middle eastern affairs at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in the US, told CNN during its live coverage of the ongoing conflict that Iran clearly surprised Israel by its ability to restructure its leadership after several high-level commanders were killed in Israeli strikes.
Parsi said that now “Iranian missiles are successful in penetrating all layers of Israel’s air defense systems,” something which Israeli civilians are suddenly starkly aware of, according to eyewitness reports from Middle East Eye.
“We realized that it’s happening here and it’s real and close. Suddenly, you accept that what’s happening in Iran can happen here, too,” said Orly Yafa-Niger, a 67-year-old Israeli living in central Israel near the city of Ramat Gan.
Menon Rappaport, a Tel Aviv resident, suggested something similar.
“There was complete euphoria over how we eliminated the Iranian leadership… but it’s clear to me that after a night like last night, people are in shock”.
“The Israeli public has been convinced over the years that it can exist here in the region while deeply disdaining all its neighbors and rampaging in a thuggish and murderous manner against everyone—whenever and however it wants—relying solely on brute force,” said Orly Noy, a Jerusalem-based journalist, also to the Eye. “That’s why there was something so substantial about the sight of the bombed-out buildings in Ramat Gan”.
Iran’s position
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are claiming they have destroyed more than 120 of Iran’s missile launchers, which it said were a third of its total, over four days of hostilities. CNN was unable to verify those claims, and Iran have continued retaliating to some success. Additionally, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed and posted images of three Israeli jets which it alleges it shot down during airstrikes.
If true, it’s the first F-35 ever downed in combat, with one particular video showing a jet going down and a pilot ejecting.
During its initial retaliations, Parsi’s claim that Iranian missiles are penetrating Israeli air defenses seems to be correct, as reports confirm that the Kirya complex, sometimes called the Israeli “Pentagon” was hit by an Iranian missile. 5 people were wounded. Containing the Ministry of Defense, the offices of the Israeli military General Staff, Camp Rabin, and key intelligence and command facilities, the Kirya is the nerve center of the state’s military.
The New Arab reports without citing evidence that the Kirya strike “has shaken public confidence and exposed the limits of Israel’s much-vaunted military shield”.
For that, it continued, some officials are questioning the value of Israel’s opening salvo which it deemed to be a pre-emptive act of self-defense to target Iranian nuclear capabilities. The damage seems in some places to be limited, such as at the large Natanz facility, where the International Atomic Energy Agency claims Israeli airstrikes caused surface-level damage.
In Tehran, President Masoud Pezeshkian, recently shared a phone call with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who declared, “Saudi Arabia stands with its brothers in Iran and will spare no effort to support them,” emphasizing that “the entire Islamic world is united in backing Iran”.
This is not entirely correct, as Jordan assisted Israel in intercepting Iranian-launched drones en route to Israel, though Iran denied it launched any drones at all. The Cradle suggested they could have come from paramilitary groups in Iraq.
MBS also suggested that Israel was expanding hostilities to try and create a pretext for an invasion by the US, something which the staff at Antiwar claimed would instead take the form of more air strikes.
“A wise and measured response from the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said, “will prevent them from seizing that opportunity”. WaL
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PICTURED ABOVE: Israeli air defenses activate over Tel Aviv early Monday morning. PC: ILRedAlert, via X.
