For someone who’s been virtually beating the drums on an upcoming Israeli-Iranian war for well over a decade, it may seem odd that I haven’t weighed in much with that very war now having turned to a hot one. I guess the main reason is that there is so much available elsewhere, that I’d mostly be regurgitating what my readers could already find out on their own. But there’s a reason why I decided to finally weigh in, and that is that Israel’s latest move this past Shabbat was so brilliantly planned an executed on every level, it will not only go down in the annals of military exploits, but in and of itself basically elevates Israel to the level of regional superpower.
Let’s briefly go over the ways in which this attack set precedents.
First of all—according to the New York Times—this is the first time in their decades-long struggle against Iranian aggression that Israel has openly admitted to attacking Iran. This signals a new boldness along with an outright stated intent to retaliate in kind if Iran decides to follow up this attack with one of their own. Iran is on notice: Look what we were able to do to you. We’re done for now; whether or not we come back to finish the job is totally dependent on your response.
Secondly, this attack came when Israel is already engaged in an existential struggle on three fronts: Gaza, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Territory. And they did it alone: no other country was openly involved either in the planning or the execution of this attack. In fact, well-known journalist Amit Segal, in commenting on this operation, specifically highlighted how it was carried out against the express wishes of the Harris-Biden administration (yeah, that’s order in which he gave the names), and that a Trump win in the upcoming election would make for an even bolder Israel in the face of Iranian aggression.
Thirdly, the level of precision at which Israel has conducted its war with Iran is also unprecedented. They had to fly over not just one, but two hostile countries to get at their target, greatly damaging those countries’ air defenses along the way to ensure safe passage back home, and while over Iran, they were able to limit their attacks to ONLY those Iranian targets that were directly involved in targeting Israel. No other attack in history has been able to to evade the “fog of war” as this one apparently has. Remember, Iran shot down one of its own airliners on takeoff during their surprise missile attack on an American base in Iraq, irrationally fearing that it was an enemy plane coming in to retaliate.
Fourthly, the success with which Israel carried out this operation has to strike terror in the hearts of any national leader contemplating a military move against that nation. Yes, Iran was able to shoot down a few missiles and drones, but were unable to touch a single manned aircraft. Their vaunted air defense system, recently purchased at great expense from Russia, was basically disabled in a single strike, without being able to inflict any damage in kind. Iran realizes that if they do anything to retaliate, their skies are open to Israeli bombs and missiles coming back to finish the job at the same level of precision they just demonstrated.
This attack was a game-changer in the Israeli-Iranian war. Will it serve to end that war? One key component to answering that question is something you probably aren’t getting from the news, and that is the massive turning to Christ that is going on right now in Iran. An estimated million Iranians have left Islam to follow the Jewish Messiah, and thousands of mosques now sit vacant for lack of attendees. Of course these new believers want nothing of a war with Israel, and increasingly the Muslim majority is losing interest in it as well. For the first time the Iranian leadership faces heavy opposition from within their borders against retaliating for this major loss of face, and who is to say what may emerge from the major shakeup that is no doubt now underway.
As someone committed to praying for the peace of Jerusalem, I am greatly encouraged by what Israel was able to pull off, and thank God that it went so well, especially with such minimal loss of life on the Iranian side. I pray they will not have to go back, but if they do, they will eliminate the nuclear threat the Iran poses to the entire region. I have no doubt now that they are capable of it: I understand that the latest generation of bunker-buster bombs is capable of penetrating through 200 feet of solid rock, and I’m sure the Iranians never ensured that level of protection when they buried their nuclear sites in the sides of their mountains.
