by Mike Whitney, The Unz Review:
Sirens sounded across Israel on Tuesday as a massive barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles hit targets around Tel Aviv. The attack was launched in response to Israel’s assassinations of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah’s chairman Hasan Nasrallah. According to a statement released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the attack was aimed at “three military bases” in the Tel Aviv area. As of this writing, no casualties have been reported and the extent of the damage remains unknown.
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised the attack calling it a “decisive response” to Israeli “aggression.”
In accordance with legitimate rights and the aim of [establishing] peace and security in Iran and the region, a decisive response has been made to the Zionist regime’s aggression. Netanyahu should know that Iran is not seeking war, but it will stand firmly against any threat. This is just a glimpse of our capabilities.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei followed the president’s remarks by posting an illustration of a large underground weapons cache that would be used to deter future Israeli aggression.
Less than an hour after the attack, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan delivered an ominous warning saying: “There will be severe consequences for this attack, and we will work with Israel to make that the case.” Sullivan refused to elaborate on the manner in which the US or Israel would retaliate, but some analysts think the response could come as early as Tuesday night.
Unverified video from Israel’s Nevatim Air Base, shows a facility that has been severely damaged by Iran’s ballistic missile barrage. The wreckage extends in all directions and dozens of workers are seen picking through the piles of broken concrete and twisted rebar. If the video is real, then it appears that Iran has the technological ability to strike heavily defended installations at the heart of Israel. Naturally, all of this will factor into Tel Aviv’s decision about how best to retaliate.
Aside from Israeli military bases, Iran also landed a direct hit on an Israeli gas platform off the coast of Gaza. The “US-based energy company Chevron …operates the Tamar platform, which is roughly 13 miles off the coast of the Gaza Strip.” Palestinian officials have disputed Israel’s right to sell the gas as the field occupies an area within Palestinian territorial waters. Check out this post from Kathleen Tyson
(Israel) will annex Gaza to deprive Palestinians of Levantine Basin gas revenues, maybe Lebanon too. War is always about hydrocarbons @Kathleen_Tyson_
Bloodlust, yes, but land, oil, and gas lust too. Zionists will not tolerate any revenues from the Levant Basin gas reserves go to Palestinians and Lebanese.
US, UK, and EU are backing the genocides because they lost their bid with proxy Ukraine to regain the oil, gas, and lithium of the Donbas and Crimea.
It’s worth noting, that support for Israel’s expansionist war aims in the Middle East is now encountering stiff resistance among members of Washington’s foreign policy establishment. This is from an article at Politico:
Senior White House figures privately told Israel that the U.S. would support its decision to ramp up military pressure against Hezbollah — even as the Biden administration publicly urged the Israeli government in recent weeks to curtail its strikes, according to American and Israeli officials…
Not everyone in the administration was on board with Israel’s shift, despite support inside the White House, the officials said. The decision to focus on Hezbollah sparked division within the U.S. government, drawing opposition from people inside the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community who believed Israel’s move against the Iran-backed militia could drag American forces into yet another Middle East conflict….
Officials in the intelligence community, in briefings and talks with members of Congress last week, had said they were increasingly worried about the potential for a direct ground confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah….
The administration’s public message to Israel continues to be: Avoid escalation and keep pursuing diplomacy with Hezbollah. Politico
While the author makes a persuasive case that elements within the US state oppose further escalation, it’s largely a moot point. The Biden administration has been Israel’s greatest enabler and certainly shares equal responsibility for the mountains of carnage strewn across Gaza and soon Lebanon. If a war breaks out between Iran and Israel, the US will back Israel to the hilt underscoring its culpability in mass murder and the triggering a Third World War. Here is a shortened version of today’s Statement by the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces:
