Israel hits back against Iran (bombs Isfahan, home to nuclear facilities)

[Middle-aged Europe]

[ꙮ]

So to be clear, if Netanyahu completely defies Biden and strikes Iran will Biden still try to intercept Iranian missiles fired in retaliation?

I certainly wouldn't, but like most boomers, Biden holds Israel to a far lower standard than he does the rest of the world. I think he will cave to Likud, this has been the pattern so far.

Put simply, Iran can't destroy Israel but Israel can destroy Iran. However, it will only do that if it is hit hard enough to extract a horrific response, similar to what Hamas caused. Therefore, yes, it is in everyone's interest that Biden will continue to deter Iranian attacks against our ally, and thank G-d we have a smart and practical president instead of the alternatives.

It isn't at all obvious that Iran can't destroy Israel (particularly if Israel didn't have American backup) but regardless you could just as easily say that Ukraine can't destroy Russia but Russia can destroy Ukraine, do you apply this same logic there?

If Iran was in the position to destroy Israel, it would cease to be able to within minutes, unless you're alleging they have secret nukes already.

As for Russia-Ukraine, we should be aiding our allies in both Ukraine and Israel against their barbarian attackers.

I wouldn’t be shocked if they did. A basic nuclear bomb really isn’t that complex to build, for a country at least. A Hiroshima type bomb is literally just getting two pure lumps of U-235 and slamming them together really hard.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Israel Will Strike Back

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C52US1Cr5CS/

Israeli intelligence expert Aaron Cohen is a firm believer Israel must nullify Iran's military capacity point blank.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Conducting a near-impossible air strike against the uranium enrichment plants of a rogue nation that still uses F-14 Tomcats in its air force is basically the plot of Top Gun: Maverick btw.

[CumbrianLefty]

That was a film, this is real life.

Of course I know that you know that, but still

[Middle-aged Europe]

That was a film, this is real life.

Of course I know that you know that, but still

I merely found the similarities a bit eerie. Top Gun went to great lengths to avoid mentioning a specific country name in the movie, despite the fact that the Iranian Air Force is the only one in the world to still use the F-14 (and it also happens to be a country with a controversial nuclear weapons program). The unspecified enemy air force in the film also flew unnamed "fifth-generation" fighters who were clearly based on the brandnew Russian Su-57 which doesn't seem too unplausible given Iran's involvement in the Ukraine war as a major weapons supplier for Russia and them recently joining BRICS/SCO. Except that the movie was filmed before the COVID pandemic. But then again, as far as speculative military scenarios are concerned it probably wasn't the most far-fetched one.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Strait of Hormuz

Fire Up Your Engines

https://youtu.be/UVRUxtPKK-w

[Comrade Funk]

Strait of Hormuz

Fire Up Your Engines

https://youtu.be/UVRUxtPKK-w

Does this serve any purpose except showcasing your glee for war?

[GoTfan]

Strait of Hormuz

Fire Up Your Engines

https://youtu.be/UVRUxtPKK-w

Does this serve any purpose except showcasing your glee for war?

Meclazine, as a rule, is always ready to blow up anyone in the Middle East. I mean, he's on record as considering people from there to not be legitimate refugees and has defended Ben Roberts-Smith, a known war criminal.

[Former Dean Phillips Supporters for Haley (I guess???!?) 👁️]

Israel is apparently attacking Iran now...

Initial reports say there is bombing in Isfahan Iran, which is close to some Iranian nuclear facilities.

If Iran hits back quickly, and in particular if Israel has hit nuclear facilities and Iran responds by hitting nuclear facilities in Israel, this could get very bad.

In addition, explosions are reported in Iraq and Syria:

https://vxtwitter.com/Charles_Lister/status/1781128420560126298

NEW -- reports of near-simultaneous airstrikes on #Iran targets in #Isfahan (home to nuclear facilities), as well as targeting air bases in #Daraa & #Suwayda in southern #Syria (home to radar & air defense sites).

https://www.twitter.com/JoeTruzman/status/1781131171134623893

We have yet to hear from official sources in Iraq, Syria, and Iran regarding the reported explosions.

[Former Dean Phillips Supporters for Haley (I guess???!?) 👁️]

https://fxtwitter.com/DeItaone/status/1780921398036189331

⚠️ IRAN HAS GATHERED INFO ON NUCLEAR SITES IN ISRAEL: TASNIM

https://fxtwitter.com/DeItaone/status/1780921545302401264

⚠️ IRAN'S GUARDS COMMANDER HAGHTALAB SAYS: OUR HANDS ARE ON TRIGGER, ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR FACILITIES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED - TASNIM

From earlier. If Iran does what it says here and hits back at the Israeli nuclear reactor in Dimona, or at locations where Israel has nuclear weapons, then this is very dangerous.

Assuming Israel bombed the nuclear sites and not something else in Isfahan.

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

So Biden wagging his finger at Netanyahu while promising him unconditional military support and tens of billions in aid didn't convince him to deescalate. What a shock.

The airspace between Israel and Iran is already starting to clear out. We'll see whether this goes all out or if missile exchanges between Iran and Israel will just be a thing now like they are for Israel and Hezbollah.

[Hindsight was 2020]

I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue

[ProudModerate2]

Here we go.
This could escalate to an ugly war.

What website is showing the best live-ish coverage?

[Tekken_Guy]

Here we go.
This could escalate to an ugly war.

What website is showing the best live-ish coverage?

This will not escalate into an ugly war.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Here we go.
This could escalate to an ugly war.

What website is showing the best live-ish coverage?

This will not escalate into an ugly war.

I truly, deeply hope this take ages like the finest of wines.

[Lief 🗽]

This is a really insane thing for Israel to do. They should have just taken the win after we shot most of the drones/missiles down.

[Former Dean Phillips Supporters for Haley (I guess???!?) 👁️]

I am getting more optimistic here that this may not escalate.

Iranian media and Iranian spokesmen are downplaying or outright denying (a mix of both) the Israeli strikes. In addition, it seems that the strike in Isfahan was most likely not against nuclear facilities, but against an airfield with old F-14s (there are reports of other strikes, but heavily unclear/rumor still).

So since Iran is downplaying it, that suggests that they may simply try to ignore it and sweep it under the rug so that they do not have to respond. That could de-escalate things.

However, they will probably still at least respond in some form, but maybe just through proxies rather than directly.

Israel also did this in a pretty smart way. They did it just before dawn, so that if Iran wanted to respond immediately (like they said they would), they would have to do so during the day.

So if Iran still does respond, they may wait until night also. And that gives some additional time for Israeli civilians to hear about this and to take precautions for this evening.

[Former Dean Phillips Supporters for Haley (I guess???!?) 👁️]

Here's an example of Iran denying it:

https://www.twitter.com/BNONews/status/1781154217559834879

Iranian official: "There's been no airstrike in Isfahan or other parts of the country. They only made a failed and humiliating attempt to fly quadcopters, and they were all shot down."

And here's an example of them downplaying it:

https://www.twitter.com/FirstSquawk/status/1781158831583531236

IRANIAN STATE TV: 'AT AROUND 1230 AM GMT THREE DRONES WERE OBSERVED IN THE SKY OVER ISFAHAN. THE AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM BECAME ACTIVE AND DESTROYED THESE DRONES IN THE SKY”

So this is what suggests that Iran may want to de-escalate.

[Former Dean Phillips Supporters for Haley (I guess???!?) 👁️]

One other little point - Israel likely bombed the non-nuclear target (airfield/airport) in Isfahan in order to send a message to Iran that, "hey, if you escalate further, we can hit your nuclear facilities next time, since we just hit this nearby".

[Blue3]

They're saying it did NOT target nuclear facilities.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/19/live-israel-launches-missile-attack-in-response-to-iran-assault

https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-04-18-24/index.html

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Looking at this, it seems like another chess move - Iran sent massive force targeting civilians, but in a way that Israel could prevent. Israel responded with tactical strikes that didn't target civilians - but hit perfectly, sending the message of exactly what they could do if they escalate.

[Open Source Intelligence]

So Biden wagging his finger at Netanyahu while promising him unconditional military support and tens of billions in aid didn't convince him to deescalate. What a shock.

The airspace between Israel and Iran is already starting to clear out. We'll see whether this goes all out or if missile exchanges between Iran and Israel will just be a thing now like they are for Israel and Hezbollah.

Netanyahu knows it's an election year and Biden won't do sh*t. Meanwhile AIPAC are getting rid of troublesome Congressmen.

[Blue3]

Just heard someone call Iran a tiny, poor, desert country.


Ummm...




...same population as Germany and Turkey, #19 in the world, approaching 90 million.

...34th biggest economy in the world (despite sanctions), alongside Vietnam and the Philippines, and ahead of Denmark, Hong Kong, Egypt, Pakistan, Finland, Nigeria...

[Open Source Intelligence]

Saw some clickbait Twitter accounts claiming that an Israeli counter-strike is coming. Anything to it, or just nonsense?

Well they were right. Although they could've just been lucky.