After years of using his terrorist proxies to strike at Israelis, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, launched a direct attack on the Jewish state on Saturday. More than 200 kamikaze drones, armed drones, and ballistic and cruise missiles were fired from Iranian soil as well as from proxies in Syria and Yemen, as Israel and the United States mobilized military assets to intercept them before before they reach their targets.
For Iran’s usually cautious Supreme Leader, this was a risky move. By crossing the red line of a direct attack on Israel from Iranian soil, he opened the door to a violent response from Jerusalem.
Potential targets include Iran’s leadership and military assets, oil refineries, which are the lifeblood of its regime, and its rapidly expanding nuclear weapons program.
Perhaps Khamenei thought he had no choice. In a daring April 1 operation, the Israeli Air Force killed General Mohammad Reza Zahedi of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who played a central role in the planning and execution of the attack by Hamas, Iranian proxy, on October 7. This savage strike killed 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, including more than 30 Americans, and led to the kidnapping of more than 240 hostages. The IAF killed Zahedi, another high-ranking IRGC general, and five other IRGC commanders who were planning operations at an IRGC Quds Force building adjacent to the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.
Trained terrorists
Zahedi was a big fish. He led the IRGC’s operations outside Syria and, as the main Iranian contact with Lebanese Hezbollah, helped arm and train Iran’s most dangerous terrorist army.
Hezbollah has been trading fire with the Israel Defense Forces for six months and possesses more than 175,000 missiles, rockets and mortars, including deadly precision-guided munitions that could cause devastating damage to Israeli civilian infrastructure.
Not for nothing did Israel consider Zahedi’s assassination the most serious since the Trump administration – with detailed intelligence provided by Israel’s Mossad spy agency – killed Qassem Soleimani, the feared commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, which had waged war against the United States and Israel. for decades.
Khamenei ignored President Biden’s warning Friday, who told the Iranians: “Don’t do it!” when asked what his response would be to an Iranian attack. The president sent U.S. Central Command Gen. Michael Kurilla to Israel to meet with his IDF counterparts and sent a U.S. warship to the Red Sea. None of this seemed enough to deter an Iranian attack, although it might have lessened its severity.
Follow live news of the Iranian attack on Israel.
The Biden administration must now do more in providing ballistic missile defense support to Israel, as both forces have done for decades. Washington should also provide all the military supplies the IDF needs to respond to this aggression and unwavering political support to help Israel through this critical period.
Biden’s hesitant support for Israel in its war against Hamas and the threat by dozens of Democratic members of Congress to cut off military support have surely emboldened Khamenei.
Israel is a formidable military power with considerable military resources. It has a multi-layered air defense system capable of shooting down drones and cruise and ballistic missiles. But the IDF cannot just play defense. It will be under pressure to directly respond to Iranian aggression with its powerful air, naval and cyber capabilities. Otherwise, it could normalize direct Iranian attacks against Israel. It could also be an opportunity to attack assets linked to Iran’s expanding nuclear program.
The Islamic Republic has been at war with Israel for decades. But the Iranian supreme leader has now crossed an Israeli red line that he may regret.
New York Post
