https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/423853
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first press conference since the start of the war this evening (Thursday) via video conference.
During the press conference, Netanyahu addressed Hezbollah's attacks on Israel and stated that the Iranian proxy terror group would "pay a very heavy price."
"This is no longer the same Iran, this is no longer the same Middle East, and this is also not the same Israel. We initiate and attack with force. Trump and I talk almost every day, exchange ideas and advice, and decide together," Netanyahu said.
However, he added that he cannot guarantee "that the Iranian regime will collapse, if we join forces, we will repel the enemies time and time again."
The Prime Minister promised that "many more surprises are expected in the campaign. We have the upper hand, much more than we expected."
I think the big hope was that when the attack started, the ayatollahs would pick up and run like crazy. I don't think the US and Israel expected them to stick around.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't going to be any easier than Gaza, and thst dragged on for years and still the opponent has not been ousted.
DeletePresident Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu went in based on the intuition that the Iranian regime's moment in history has passed.
Their successes so far have been astounding. No aircraft lost except to friendly fire.
We mourn all the soldiers "who have given their lives and the civilians who have been killed; and those who have been injured have our sympathy.
In terms of war, though, the casualties are on the low side. This has encouraged both the President and PM to keep pressing forward.
The entire Iranian navy is gone!
The IRGC is maybe 250,000 people according to Google AI. Their buildings are turning into rubble. In a country of tens of millions of people who hate them, how long can they last?
The electrical grid in the country still is mostly untouched. Once that goes down, the U.S. taking over will go pretty smothly. The IRGC units won't even have communications capacity at that point.
First, the US will not takeover. Any grudging support from the left and right for this war is based on a "We bomb and then leave" assumption. After the debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan, no one in America wants another costly and disastrous occupation.
DeleteThe problem is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the Iranian government that Israel should've figured out even if the Americans didn't.
The assumption was that, when the going got tough, the dictators would run. That's what Bashir Assad did. That's what all dictators who see their rule threatened do when they fear losing their lives. So why didn't the Iranians run? For the same reason Hamas' leadership is still hiding in Gaza.
The previous model was based on secular considerations. For all their "I'm a proud Muslim!" claims, all major Arab leaders in the second half of the 20th century were secular socialists. Nasser, the Assads, the various Husseins and so on. They had no trouble running when their time was up because they were more interested in their lives than their countries.
The Iranians, like the Taliban, are different. They don't see running the country as an opportunity to enrich themselves off the misery of others (although they certainly do that). They see running the country as a religious obligation, one they cannot give up. They know they have staying power and they know that America and Israel, being secular, don't. That is why they are holding on even as their country is reduced to ruins. Their god wants them to and they serve him without question.
Except Donald Trump does not like losing. He still maintains he won the 2020 Presidential election.
DeleteIf he declares victory and leaves Iran and Iran mines the Straitof Hormuz and goes back to atom bomb building, President Trump will be forced to admit he lost.
President Trump has nothing to lose by pushing hard on the Iranians right up to the Republicans losing the mid-terms and even after until the Democrats actually start serving with majorities in Congress and shut him down.
President Trump has a full year to do as he wants in Iran, even if it means bringing down Republican majorities in Congress. Those Republican majorities might actually pull the plug on the war sooner rather than later but my feeling is they won't do that.
Conclusion: this war is just getting underway.