Monday, 16 June 2025

Israel's "Operation Rising Lion": Roar! and Hip, Hip, Hurrah!

Israel attacks Iran. Hurray!

Israel taking out the Iranian terror nuke. And the terror leaders. The civilised world should celebrate.

This is history in front of our eyes. It's the reverse of what happened in 1979, which I remember well. The return of the Ayatollah Khomeini from his exile and protection in France, to Iran. To be welcomed, not just by the adoring crowds, but especially by the Left there. Which was promptly massacred by the new Islamic theocratic regime, because they'd served their purpose. The reality of the new regime I first read about in an amazing book, "The Stoning of Soraya M". 

And now we have the attack on that same brutal regime. I celebrate it. As do most Iranians themselves. And the sane west. If the regime tumbles we have a safer world. 

Arab nations are behind Israel as well. There's the Abraham Accords countries. Then Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. All are keen on Israel to take out the Shia Snakes in the grass, though they're not going to say so openly. 

What we have is the Sunni Arab world on the side of Israel, and the Shia Iranian (non-Arab) world on the other side, with support from other rogues, like Russia and China.

But, in the west, in the US, the Left won't celebrate for two simple reasons: 

1. Trump is in favour: anything Trump likes the Left must hate. 

2. Jews winning?? How dare they? Jews are supposed to trudge disconsolately to the ovens. What are they doing fighting for their existence and winning?! [This is the new, poisonous anti-semitism of the Left. These days more dangerous than that on the Right]

The Right -- some of the right -- is against "Operation Rising Lion" because of this: 

We've been hearing that "Iran is near to having a nuclear weapon for decades. What's so different now?"

IOW, a kind of "crying wolf" argument.

But the wolf is here. 

Here's a simplified timeline of Iran's move to get the Bomb. Which sets out what is "so different right now: 

  • 1979: Islamic Revolution; Iran's nuclear program, started under the Shah, continues but faces disruptions.
  • 1980s: Iran restarts nuclear research, focusing on uranium enrichment, amid Iran-Iraq War; program secretive.
  • 1990s: Iran acquires centrifuge technology from Pakistan’s A.Q. Khan network; begins covert enrichment.
  • 2002: Exile group reveals secret nuclear sites at Natanz and Arak, raising global concerns.
  • 2003-2005: Iran negotiates with EU-3 (UK, France, Germany); temporarily suspends enrichment but resumes later.
  • 2006-2010: UN imposes sanctions; Iran expands enrichment, builds Fordow facility; Stuxnet cyberattack disrupts centrifuges.
  • 2011-2013: Tensions rise; Iran increases uranium stockpile; US and Israel consider military strikes.
  • 2015: Iran signs JCPOA (nuclear deal) with P5+1 (US, UK, France, China, Russia, Germany), limiting nuclear program for sanctions relief. Iran breaches the agreement from day 1.
  • 2018: US withdraws from JCPOA, reimposes sanctions; Iran gradually reduces compliance.
  • 2019-2021: Iran ramps up enrichment, reaches 60% purity, nears weapons-grade; talks to revive JCPOA stall.
  • 2022-2025: Iran continues advancing nuclear capabilities; no breakthrough in negotiations; IAEA reports growing stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran has not officially produced a nuclear weapon, but its enriched uranium stockpile and technical advancements show that the "breakout time" is now just a few weeks.

Not case of crying wolf. But a case of warning about the wolf for a long time, until it became too present a danger to let it continue.

Kinda like Winston Churchill warning about the threat of Germany's rearmament, which he began doing in 1932. So that by 1938 people were saying "Ok, Winnie, we get it. The Germans are rearming. They're always rearming, according to you. So what else is new?"

You can keep warning about these threats, until suddenly they're there. It's not that your persistent warnings mean that the threat you warn about is not real.

Even the IAEA -- hardly a stooge of the US or or Israel -- found Iran in breach just 4 days ago:

June 12, 2025 IAEA Board Resolution: The IAEA Board of Governors formally declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in nearly 20 years, citing Iran’s lack of cooperation since 2019, including failure to clarify undeclared nuclear activities and materials. The resolution passed with 19 votes in favor, three against (Russia, China, Burkina Faso), and 11 abstentions.

[Side note: Trust China, these days, to be on the wrong side. To be on the side of the baddies. When they used to be on the side of the goodies, as in WW1 and WW2].

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REFERENCES: On-the-ground reports from Israel and the US, via YouTube:

There's many, many more, all over YouTube. 

If you want a take that is anti-Israel, that bemoans Israel's attack on Iran's nuke development and its missiles, then go to BBC, CNN, MSNBC, Australia's SBS or ABC. They're all reliably on the other side of this issue. (which I call the "Wrong Side". But that's just me).

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