Five Errors About Iran’s War on Israel, America, and the West

RealClear Politics ^ | 29 Jun, 2025 | Peter Berkowitz

[MtnClimber]

On June 22, in the early morning local time, the United States inflicted “severe damage” – confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Association – on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear installations at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. This marked a turning point in Iran’s war against Israel, the United States, and the West. One day later Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire following a 12-day battle in which Iran incurred extensive military setbacks and Israel – while suffering 28 civilian deaths and more than 3,000 civilians wounded, and incurring more than a billion dollars in property damage – did not lose an aircraft or a fighter.

Many critics of Israel and the Trump administration remain unwilling or unable to grasp that Iran is the aggressor. This contributes to the critics’ failure to appreciate the lawfulness of Israel’s and the United States’ strikes on Iran. And it renders the critics oblivious to how Israel and the United States have advanced the free world’s interest in thwarting the pursuit of nuclear weapons by the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism, and the world’s leading state-sponsor of anti-American terror.

On June 21, more than a week after the expiration of President Donald Trump’s 60-day deadline for reaching a negotiated settlement, Iran reiterated its rejection of talks with the United States unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire. By the time the sun rose the next day on Tehran, Iran found the third of its three key bargaining chips, like the other two, greatly diminished.

Building on Israel’s Operation Rising Lion – which since June 13 had eliminated most of Iran’s air-defense systems, damaged its nuclear installations, hit command and control centers belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and killed top nuclear scientists and military commanders – America’s Operation Midnight Hammer inflicted devastating blows

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TOPICS: Military/Veterans; Society
KEYWORDS: midnighthammer

[MtnClimber]

Many critics of Israel and the Trump administration remain unwilling or unable to grasp that Iran is the aggressor.

I think they know. They just lie.

[sopo]

CNN is sticking to its story today that Iran nuclear program set back only months.

[Robert DeLong]

Very informative article, thanks for sharing. 👍

[Carry_Okie]

CNN is sticking to its story today that Iran nuclear program set back only months.

To my mind, it's not the nuclear program at issue as much as it is the missile delivery systems. I can't imagine the Norks, Pakis, or Russians wouldn't sell them one. Missiles are big enough to be trackable, even if they're mobile. The challenge is distinguishing a nuclear-capable vehicle and launch system.

[nopardons]

BTTT

[libertylover]

I think they know. They just lie.

Yes, their hate overcomes any care about the truth.

[Owen]

A bit of data.

Nuclear forensics.

Don’t know if people were aware of this or not, but a nuclear explosion leaves a fingerprint of neutron flux as well as residual dust materials. The source of the uranium (or more likely plutonium) can be determined by the nature of that material and its flux. Remember, the entirety of weapons material in an explosion is not consumed. Its residual is collectable. This was done particularly for the Chinese test explosions a few decades ago, with products shipped by them having residual dust.

The material source, processing and even movement can be determined. The only limit on this is the presumption that material over the decades has been stolen. So an explosion over Tel Aviv might show US plutonium.

That would be an interesting week.

[DesertRhino]

And the Israeli program started with stolen American uranium, and France has sold fissile material in the Middle East. We buy uranium from Russia, good only knows where Pakistan got theirs. And after the fall of the USSr, they had massive amounts stored in bunkers with nothing but a padlock in some places. That nuclear fingerprint is getting closer to a ‘so what?’

Much more so that the 60s or 79s

[Ancesthntr]

“And the Israeli program started with stolen American uranium….”

Not necessarily. In this, Wikipedia article regarding these Israeli nuclear program https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_and_Israel There is an assertion that the CIA believes that Israel stole uranium from the US Navy. Has the CIA ever been trustworthy? Maybe they did, and maybe they didn’t, and I would suggest that we are never going to have any kind of certain knowledge unless a very high ranking Israeli official who is in the no publicly admit it (and I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen).

[bobbo666]

Unimportant. hamas and hezzies live to deliver truck bombs. Well, “live” for a while. Can also put it on any boat coming into an Israeli port.

Any nuke Iran gets will immediately to to Israel. And, then, Iran will be a blazing puddle for years to come. Not a good trade as Israel is the only democracy in the area.

[faithhopecharity]

Yours: “Many critics of Israel and the Trump administration remain unwilling or unable to grasp that Iran is the aggressor.”

Mine: they know. nobody with an IQ above single digits doesn’t know Iran is the aggressor throughout the region, and a bit beyond.

They just are so disappointed that Iran failed to win that they are making up any possible lies they can dream up about it, even where there are thousands of hours of direct statements on tape or video from the Iranian dictatorship and its spokesmen.....directly stating their intentions to destroy or conquer USA, Baharin, the Gulf oil resources, Israel, and far beyond.

Tell a lie often enough, especially if it is an audacious lie, and soon you’ll get people to believe it, Joseph Goebells would be pround of the Islamicist Big Lie (which, not incidentally, is all over the internet and social media today)