Remember Israel’s “measured” retaliatory attack against Iran? The one that, though certainly significant, seemingly did not hit any truly decisive target (we’re talking nuclear and oil)?
Well, maybe that assessment was a tad hasty.
From Shamim Chowdhury’s article for Newsweek, via msn.com:
Israeli’s airstrike on Iran last month has reportedly destroyed a top-secret Iranian nuclear research facility at Parchin, which lies 19 miles south-east of the country’s capital, Tehran, according to multiple sources within U.S. and Israeli intelligence.
The Oct. 25 strike targeted the Taleghan 2 facility, Axios reported. It is a site previously thought to be inactive, but which had been revived for use in secret nuclear weapons research.
If confirmed, the attack marks a sharp escalation in Israel’s ongoing campaign against Iran’s nuclear program, with officials describing the facility as a key node in Iran’s effort to develop the technology needed for nuclear weaponization.
“A key node in Iran’s effort to develop the technology needed for nuclear weaponization”? How key a node? How far did Israel set Iran’s murderous terrorist leaders back in this effort?
Personally, I hope Israel sent them back to the nuclear stone age.
Now, two other interesting excerpts from this article, in order of appearance.
First there was this:
A State Department spokesperson told Newsweek: “Iran should not respond to Israel’s retaliation. If it chooses to do so, we will support Israel in defending itself. The United States’ message for Iran is clear: should it choose to undertake further attacks against Israel or U.S. personnel in the region, there will be consequences.”
And then, further on, this:
The strike occurred amidst rising tensions between Israel and Iran, particularly after a series of Iranian missile attacks in early October.
In a rare public intervention, President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, fearing that such an attack could trigger a broader regional conflict.
If I’m understanding the timing correctly, Biden tried to prevent Israel from doing what it did a month ago. And Israel did it anyway. In other words, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that Joe Biden was wrong about this (which he damn well was.
But once Israel successfully attacked the Parchin facility, our State Department – noting that Biden was wrong/it didn’t trigger anything other than a setback for Iran’s nuclear program – stood with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Bottom line? Israel’s attack appears to have been extremely significant, Joe Biden was wrong and Benjamin Netanyahu was correct.
What else is new?
