If the Iranian mullahs didn’t learn a thing or two from Operation Grim Beeper, well, we can’t help ‘em.
By now, they should know that Israel isn’t some schlub neighbor or Sunni minority that they can just push around with impunity. In fact, the Jewish state is dead-serious about its homeland and its continued existence, and if a Jew-hating lot like the Iranian mullahs keeps shouting “Death to Israel!” and all that, they ought not be surprised when Israel does them the courtesy of taking them seriously. And then proceeds to do something about it.
The Israelis did just that in the wee hours of Friday morning, and in doing so, they protected not only themselves but the larger world from the Islamic Bomb. As our Mark Alexander wrote in the immediate aftermath, Israel struck not only Iran’s nuclear facilities but also its atomic brain trust and its military leadership. Indeed, the planning, the prep, and the execution of this sophisticated strike are proof that last year’s modern-day version of the Trojan Horse, the Exploding Pagers of Hezbollah, wasn’t a one-off. While the Iranians have been playing war, the Israelis have been playing contract bridge.
And they’re not done yet. Just yesterday, we learned that an Israel Defense Forces airstrike killed Mohammed Kazemi, the head of intelligence of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as his deputy and a handful of others. Imagine that: Somehow, the Israelis learned that Kazemi, his deputy, and other senior officials were attending an in-person meeting. Next time, maybe their sub-assistant deputies will try a Zoom call.
Heck, the IDF is reporting on its military successes as if it were churning out the minutes from yesterday’s staff meeting:
What did the IAF accomplish in Iran last night? 20+ surface-to-surface missiles were dismantled minutes before they were to be launched toward Israel’s home front. Approx. 100 military targets were struck in Isfahan, central Iran. Around 50 fighter jets and aircraft identified and struck missile storage sites and surface-to-surface missile launchers that were ready for launch toward Israel. With this, we can now say that 1/3 of the Iranian regime’s missile launchers have been dismantled.
As for the spectacular success of these preemptive strikes, we can also intuit something from Israel’s candor in telling the rest of the world how they carried it off. If we didn’t know better, we’d swear they were bragging about it. As The New York Post reports: “Israeli spies smuggled missiles and secretly hid explosive drones deep inside Iran in a series of covert operations leading up to Friday’s deadly onslaught — before tricking military leaders into gathering for a meeting so they could be wiped out. Intelligence agents with Mossad, Israel’s top spy agency, started infiltrating the heart of Iran several months back in order to pull off the surprise attack.”
Imagine building a secret base deep inside your sworn enemy’s territorial borders and within quick-striking distance of its capital city. Imagine smuggling in both sophisticated weapons systems and the commandos to operate them. That’s precisely what the Israelis did.
Furthermore, imagine if you could somehow extend the effective range of your jet fighters by refueling them in midair over what was once enemy territory. Syria is perfectly situated geographically, and its new boss, Ahmed al-Shara, isn’t the same as the old boss, Bashar al-Assad. President al-Shara, in fact, has indicated that Syria “could cooperate with Israel on security matters and that he is open to negotiations between the two countries.”
How was Iran caught so woefully off-guard? How were Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump able to keep from tipping Israel’s hand? Perhaps the mullahs didn’t believe their own ears. As Michael Doran writes at The Free Press, “In a world of diplomatic doublespeak, hypocrisy, and strategic ambiguity, Trump and Netanyahu simply said what they meant.”
Trump gave the mullahs deadlines for nuclear negotiation and dealmaking, and he told them they’d be held accountable for Houthi transgressions elsewhere. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei even bragged on June 4, “The U.S. can’t do a damn thing about our program.”
Maybe not. But Israel sure could. And did.
