COMPILED BY DICK BENNETT FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE, JUSTICE, AND ECOLOGY
https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2025/06/omni-israel-and-iran-anthology-1-june.html
What’s at Stake: Stopping attacks by Israel, retaliations by Iran, US arming Israel, and US strengthening its naval and air forces in the Middle East.
CONTENTS
2024
Liebermann. US Naval and Air Reinforcements to Middle East.
Larry Johnson. “TED POSTOL’S ANALYSIS OF IRAN’S MISSILE ATTACK ON ISRAEL.” by Larry Johnson.
Marjorie Cohn. “Iran’s Attack Was A Legal Response To Israel’s Illegal Attack.”
“Israel tries to provoke Iran.”
Robert Inlakesh, “Revealed: Israel’s Hidden History Of Attacks On Iran.”
SCOTT RITTER. “Checkmate.”
“Iran Launches Retaliatory Strikes.”
Ben Norton. “Iran Had Legal Right To Counter-Attack Israel…”
James North. “Netanyahu Killed A Top Iranian General…”
“Israel Airstrike ‘Flattens’ Iranian Consulate In Damascus.”
2023
Danny Haiphong. “Iran-Saudi Peace Deal is Huge News.”
2022
“HOW ISRAEL EXPLOITS THE ‘IRAN THREAT’—TWO VIEWS.”
Gareth Porter. Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare.
2021
Philip Weiss. “Israel pushes U.S. into ‘aggressive posture toward Iran that could spiral into war’ — but mainstream press is indifferent.”
“Biden and Bennett leave progressive Americans out in the cold.”
Ted Snider. “If Israel accuses Iran of doing something, Israel is likely already doing it.”
2020
“Iran Calls On The International Community.”
“Iran claims Israel carried out killing remotely.”
“Iran leader calls for punishment.”
3 Articles from WRMEA
Google Search
2019
21 Articles about preparation for war.
TEXTS ISRAEL AND IRAN ANTHOLOGY #1 (covering 2019-2024, in reverse chron. order ).
(Reminder: links are provided for all omitted material; in some articles key words and phrases are highlighted in bold.)
2024
“US sending aircraft carrier, warships and fighter squadron to Middle East as region braces for Iranian retaliation By Oren Liebermann, CNN.
The US is sending a carrier strike group, a fighter squadron and additional warships to the Middle East as the region braces for an Iranian retaliation to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran earlier this week.
It is perhaps the largest movement of US forces to the region since the early days of the Gaza war, when the Pentagon sent two carrier strike groups toward the Middle East in a very public warning to regional militant groups not to expand the fighting.
Israel says it is ready for “range of scenarios” following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Israelis have been stocking up on supplies, airlines have cancelled flights and travel warnings are in place with the region on alert for an Iranian response.
“We’ve heard the Supreme Leader loud and clear that he intends to avenge this killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran, and that they want to conduct another attack on Israel,” John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, told CNN. “We can’t just assume that we are also potentially going to be victims of that kind of an attack, so we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the right resources and capabilities in the region.”
Related article: Iran has no good options after two deadly strikes on senior allies
On Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group, which is currently operating in the Gulf of Oman, according to a statement from Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh.
In addition, destroyers and cruisers capable of ballistic missile defense will also be sent to the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea. The statement does not say which warships have been sent, but two US destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea took part in intercepting the barrage of strikes Iran launched against Israel in April.
Austin also ordered the deployment of a fighter squadron to the region, Singh said.
The US already has the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship in the region, which operates with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, capable of carrying out an evacuation of US citizens in Lebanon should it be ordered.
“The United States’ global defense is dynamic and the Department of Defense retains the capability to deploy on short notice to meet evolving national security threats,” Singh said in the statement.. . . .MORE https://www.cnn.com/profiles/oren-liebermann
“TED POSTOL’S ANALYSIS OF IRAN’S MISSILE ATTACK ON ISRAEL” by Larry Johnson ( 22 April 2024). FacebookTwitterTelegramEmailShare
This is a highly technical analysis of the missiles employed by Iran and Israel and their “iron dome” missile defenses, including their financial costs, but it is clearly written and accompanied by clarifying graphics. https://sonar21.com/ted-postols-analysis-of-irans-missile-attack-on-israel/
“Iran’s Attack Was A Legal Response To Israel’s Illegal Attack”
By Marjorie Cohn. Truthout. Popular Resistance.org (4-21-24). On April 1, Israel mounted an unprovoked military attack on a building that was part of the Iranian Embassy complex in Damascus, Syria, killing seven of Iran’s senior military advisers and five additional people. The victims included Gen. Mohamad Reza Zahedi, head of Iran’s covert military operations in Lebanon and Syria, and two other senior generals. Although Israel’s attack violated the United Nations Charter, the UN Security Council refused to condemn it because the United States, the U.K. and France exercised their vetoes on April 4. -more-
“Israel tries to provoke Iran, escalate violence into a a broader regional war.” The People’s Forum, Media Digest (4-20-24).Last Friday, April 13, 2024, Iran fired hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel in a historic retaliation to the Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria. Israel’s attack, internationally condemned and illegal under international law, killed twelve Iranians including two generals, but Iran’s operation produced no casualties as the country only targeted military sites. Israel continues to escalate violence in the region, and Iran has shown that it will respond as needed according to international law and will also continue to support Palestine. Western officials have denounced Iran’s actions and have said they will impose new sanctions on the country. In Gaza, Israel continues to prepare for the ground invasion in Rafah—after rumors circulated that the U.S. had negotiated a smaller response from Israel to Iran’s bombing of the country by green-lighting an invasion of Rafah, the U.S. now claims this is not true.
“Revealed: Israel’s Hidden History Of Attacks On Iran” By Robert Inlakesh, MintPress News. Popular Resistance.org (4-18-24). While the international media’s attention was riveted on Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel, drawing great focus to some 300 drones and missiles used in the attack, no major deal was made of Israel’s strike on April 1 against the consular segment of Iran’s embassy in Damascus, Syria, that killed a dozen people, including seven Iranian officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In this unprecedented act of aggression against Iranian soil, breaking international diplomatic norms, the Israelis were shielded by the U.S. government at the United Nations Security Council…. -more-
“Checkmate” by SCOTT RITTER (APR 16, , 2024).
North Korea conducts a mass launch of ballistic missiles
The Iranian defeat of the US-Israeli missile defense architecture has global security consequences.
The world’s attention has, rightfully so, been focused on the fallout from Iran’s retaliatory strike against Israel on April 13-14, 2024. Iran’s purpose in launching the attack was to establish a deterrence posture designed to put Israel and the United States on notice that any attack against Iran, whether on Iranian soil or on the territory of other nations, would trigger a retaliation which would inflict more damage on the attacker than the attacker could hope to inflict on Iran. To achieve this result, Iran had to prove itself capable of overcoming the ballistic missile defense systems of both Israel and the United States which were deployed in and around Israel at the time of the attack. This Iran was able to accomplish, with at least nine missiles striking two Israeli air bases that fell under the protective umbrella of the Israeli-US missile defense shield.
The Iranian deterrence posture has implications that reach far beyond the environs of Israel or the Middle East. . . .Iran successfully struck both locations with multiple missiles.
The global strategic implications of this stunning Iranian accomplishment are game-changing—the US has long struggled conceptually with the notion of what is referred to as “A2/AD” (anti-access/area denial) threats posed by hostile ballistic missiles. However, the US had sought to mitigate against this AA/A2 threat by overlaying theater ballistic missile defense architecture like that that had been employed in Israel. The failure of the combined US-Israeli defense systems in the face of a concerted Iranian missile attack exposed the short-comings of the US ballistic missile defense capabilities world-wide.
In short, this means that the US and NATO forces in Europe are vulnerable to attack from advanced Russian missile technologies which match or exceed those used by Iran to attack Israel. It also means that China would most likely be able to strike and sink US navy ships in the Pacific Ocean in the event of a conflict over Taiwan. And that North Korea could do the same to US ships and forces ashore in the vicinity of Japan and South Korea.
Until which time the US can develop, produce and deploy missile defense systems capable of defeating the new missile technology being deployed by nations like Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea, US military power projection capabilities are in a state of checkmate by America’s potential adversaries.
“ ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 191: Iran Launches Retaliatory Strikes” By Palestine Bureau, Mondoweiss Popular Resistance.org (4-15-24). On Saturday night, Iran launched its retaliatory strike on Israel for Israel’s bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, which killed two senior Iranian generals and ten others. Tensions had been rising in the week preceding Iran’s eventual attack, as both Israel and Iran exchanged threats and conducted maneuvers in preparation for the escalation. However, Reuters had reported on Thursday that Iran’s foreign minister, Hussein Amir Abdellahian, informed Washington during a visit to Oman that Iran would conduct its response in a way that “avoids escalation,” and that another U.S… -more-
“Iran Had Legal Right To Counter-Attack Israel In Self-Defense”
By Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. Popular Resistance.org (4-15-24). Iran launched a historic attack on April 13, hitting Israel with hundreds of drones and missiles. Tehran invoked article 51 of the charter of the United Nations, which allowed it to act in self-defense in response to Israel’s bombing of Iran’s embassy in Syria on April 1. The US, Canada, and European governments loudly condemned Iran’s April 13 attack, portraying Tehran as the aggressor. However, Western officials failed to mention that Iran was acting in self-defense. Before the Iranian counter-attack, the leading British think tank Chatham House published an article admitting that the “Israeli attack on Iran’s… -more-
SCOTT RITTER. “The Missiles of April.” Scott Ritter Extra <scottritter@substack.com> APR 14, 2024.
An Iranian missile is launched. Scores of these missiles were used to attack Israel.
Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel will go down in history as one of the greatest victories of this century.
I’ve been writing about Iran for more than two decades. In 2005, I made a trip to Iran to ascertain the “ground truth” about that nation, a truth which I then incorporated into a book, Target Iran, laying out the US-Israeli collaboration to craft a justification for a military attack on Iran designed to bring down its theocratic government. I followed this book up with another, Dealbreaker, in 2018, which brought this US-Israeli effort up to date.
Back in November 2006, in an address to Columbia University’s School of International Relations, I underscored that the United States would never abandon my “good friend” Israel until, of course, we did. What could precipitate such an action, I asked? I noted that Israel was a nation drunk of hubris and power, and unless the United States could find a way to remove the keys from the ignition of the bus Israel was navigating toward the abyss, we would not join Israel in its lemming-like suicidal journey.
The next year, in 2007, during an address to the American Jewish Committee, I pointed out that my criticism of Israel (which many in the audience took strong umbrage against) came from a place of concern for Israel’s future. I underscored the reality that I had spent the better part of a decade trying to protect Israel from Iraqi missiles, both during my service in Desert Storm, where I played a role in the counter-SCUD missile campaign, and as a United Nations weapons inspector, where I worked with Israeli intelligence to make sure Iraq’s SCUD missiles were eliminated.
Scott will discuss this article and answer audience questions on Ep. 151 of Ask the Inspector.
“The last thing I want to see,” I told the crowd, “is a scenario where Iranian missiles were impacting on the soil of Israel. But unless Israel changes course, this is the inevitable outcome of a policy driven more by arrogance than common sense.”
On the night of 13-14 April 2024, my concerns were played out live before an international audience—Iranian missiles rained down on Israel, and there was nothing Israel could do to stop them. As had been the case a little more than 33 years prior, when Iraqi SCUD missiles overcame US and Israeli Patriot missile defenses to strike Israel dozens of times over the course of a month and a half, Iranian missiles, integrated into a plan of attack which was designed to overwhelm Israeli missile defense systems, struck designated targets inside Israel with impunity.
Despite having employed an extensive integrated anti-missile defense system comprised of the so-called “Iron Dome” system, US-made Patriot missile batteries, and the Arrow and David’s Sling missile interceptors, along with US, British, and Israeli aircraft, and US and French shipborne anti-missile defenses, well over a dozen Iranian missiles struck heavily-protected Israeli airfields and air defense installations.
The Iranian missile attack on Israel did not come out of the blue, so to speak, but rather was retaliation for an April 1 Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate building, in Damascus, Syria, that killed several senior Iranian military commanders. While Israel has carried out attacks against Iranian personnel inside Syria in the past, the April 1 strike differed by not only killing very senior Iranian personnel, but by striking what was legally speaking sovereign Iranian territory—the Iranian consulate.
From an Iranian perspective, the attack on the consulate was a redline which, if not retaliated against, would erase any notion of deterrence, opening the door for even more brazen Israeli military action, up to and including direct attacks on Iran. Weighing against retaliation, however, were a complex web of interwoven policy objectives which would probably be mooted by the kind of large-scale conflict between Israel and Iran that could be precipitated by any meaningful Iranian retaliatory strike on Israel. . . . MORE click on title
The “Missiles of April” represent a sea-change moment in Middle Eastern geopolitics—the establishment of Iranian deterrence that impacts both Israel and the United States. While emotions in Tel Aviv, especially among the more radical conservatives of the Israeli government, run high, and the threat of an Israeli retaliation against Iran cannot be completely discounted, the fact is the underlying policy objective of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the course of the past 30-plus years, namely to drag the US into a war with Iran, has been put into checkmate by Iran.
Moreover, Iran has been able to accomplish this without either disrupting its strategic pivot to the east or undermining the cause of Palestinian statehood. “Operation True Promise,” as Iran named its retaliatory attack on Israel, will go down in history as one of the most important military victories in the history of modern Iran, keeping in mind that war is but an extension of politics by other means. The fact that Iran has established a credible deterrence posture without disrupting major policy goals and objectives is the very definition of victory.
“Netanyahu Killed A Top Iranian General To Provoke Regional Conflict” By James North, Mondoweiss. Popular Resistance.org (4-6-24). Benjamin Netanyahu continues to raise the risk of a Mideast regional war which could draw in the U.S. — and the mainstream media is hiding the danger from its audience. Israel’s provocative aerial assassination of a senior Iranian military leader in Damascus on April 1 is only Netanyahu’s latest effort to expand the fighting across the region, partly to put off his own painful day of reckoning. He knows that America has troops stationed all over the Mideast, and he hopes that Iran will retaliate against them, escalating conflict. -more-
Israel Airstrike ‘Flattens’ Iranian Consulate In Damascus
By News Desk, The Cradle. Popular Resistance.org (5-3-24). Israeli airstrikes destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus on 1 April, killing and injuring several Iranian diplomats in what is viewed as a significant escalation of the regional war between Israel and the Axis of Resistance. “Around 17:00 this afternoon, the ‘Israeli’ enemy launched an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting the Iranian consulate building in Damascus. Our air defenses confronted the enemy’s missiles, downing some of them,” the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced Monday. -more-
2023
Journalist Danny Haiphong provides excellent analysis of the Iran-Saudi peace deal. It promises massive implications for peace all across the Middle East, the End of Warmongering U.S. Unipolar Hegemony & the Rise of China as a Global Peace Leader in a new Multipolar Order. If you can find time, please listen:
https://m.youtube.com/live/gscBFrSJjT0?feature=share (Abel Tomlinson).
2022
“HOW ISRAEL EXPLOITS THE ‘IRAN THREAT’—TWO VIEWS.” WRMEA (October 2022).
“The Iran Threat: Fact or Fiction?” by Dr. M. Reza Behnam. The fraudulent Iran threat serves to distract citizens from Israel’s despotic treatment of the Palestinians.
“Do Not Disturb: Israel is Battling Iran” bu Gideon Levy. Israel’s war against the Iranian nuclear project serves its oppression of the Palestinians.
Gareth Porter’s book Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scareis a master class in how war lies are created, distributed, and given the strength of unquestionable permanence. And now Gareth wants to discuss it with you and answer your questions in a small online book club.
Gareth shows how the Israeli and U.S. governments successfully portrayed various actions taken by Western nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as responses to Iranian covert work on militarization of its nuclear program — even though the Israeli-U.S. actions came prior to and led to Iran’s secretive efforts, which were actually to boost its legal nuclear energy program. Porter documents the use of forged papers, the manipulation of the IAEA, and the manipulation of the public.
“Gareth Porter has become a one-man truth squad for the American government and its acolytes in the mainstream press corps…His probing and digging is a reminder that those in power, and those who report on that power, must be held to the highest possible standard.” —Seymour M. Hersh, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist
A World BEYOND War book club makes a terrific gift for yourself or a friend or loved one. It’s a fun and educational way to support ending all war. Click here to learn more and sign up.
2021
“Israel pushes U.S. into ‘aggressive posture toward Iran that could spiral into war’ — but mainstream press is indifferent.”
Philip Weiss. Mronline.org (12-19-21).
Trump says, Netanyahu was ‘willing to fight Iran to the last American soldier.’ That ought to be big news, as Israel’s defense minister gets unrivaled access in D.C. to threaten war and block the U.S. path to a new Iran deal.
“’Close friends’ Biden and Bennett leave progressive Americans out in the cold.” Mondoweiss (8-29-21).
Progressive groups condemned Joe Biden’s embrace of Israeli PM Naftali Bennett yesterday and of continued support for Israel, with no reference to its apartheid policies against Palestinians. While Israel supporters say that Bennett got everything that he wanted from the meeting, including a suggestion the U.S. would use force against Iran. READ MORE
Ted Snider. “If Israel accuses Iran of doing something, Israel is likely already doing it.” Eds. MR Online |March 27, 2021 | Newswire
Israel has accused Iran of doing many nefarious things. But the historical record shows that whatever Israel accuses Iran of, it is likely that Israel is already doing it.
2020
“Iran Calls On The International Community To Confront Israel. “ PopularResistance.org (12-3-20). By Telesur English. Iran is asking the international community to confront the Israeli regime’s actions, “a murderer of children” and “a violator of human rights.” In a message sent on Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Iranian President Hasan Rohani has declared Iran’s strong support for the Palestinian people to achieve their ideals. Rohani condemned the recent actions of the Israeli regime against the Palestinians, including the killing of Palestinians in custody and the torture of prisoners, especially women and children… -more-
“Iran claims Israel carried out killing remotely.”
COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, MR Online |March 27, 2021 | Newswire. Dec 01, 2020. Official pledges continuation of scientist’s efforts. Read more… From Pat.
“Iran leader calls for punishment.”
COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Nov 29, 2020, Israeli embassies put on high alert. Read more…
Via Pat.
3 articles on Iran and Israel in the Supplement to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (Aug.Sept. 2020)
Holocaust forum: Netanyahu urges world to unite to confront Iran
BBC.com
US Vice Pres. Pence vows to stand with Israel against Iran
The Jerusalem Post
The self-fulfilling Iran prophecy | TheHill
TheHill
Iranian–Israeli relations can be divided into four major phases: the period from 1947–53, the friendly period during the era of the Pahlavi dynasty, the worsening …
Country comparison · Timeline of relations · In the media · Cooperation
Iran–Israel proxy conflict – Wikipedia
The Iran–Israel proxy conflict, or Iran–Israel proxy war and Iran–Israel Cold War, is a proxy war between Iran and Israel in the 21st century. The conflict is bound …
Background · History · Iranian supporters and … · Israeli supporters and …
www.timesofisrael.com › for-israel-iran-strike-could-be-back-on-the-t…
For Israel, Iran strike could be back on the table | The Times of …
Jan 6, 2020 – AP — Iran’s dramatic announcement that it no longer intends to honor its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers could …
nationalinterest.org › feature › america-might-not-go-war-iran-israel-…
America Might Not Go to War with Iran, But Israel Might | The …
Jan 6, 2020 – The Iranian regime has blamed Israel as much as the United States for the killing of Qassim Suleimani.
www.npr.org › 2020/01/03 › israelis-wonder-if-iran-will-avenge-soleim…
Israelis Wonder If Iran Will Avenge Soleimani Killing By … – NPR
Jan 3, 2020 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the U.S. airstrike on Iran’s most prominent general. But his country is bracing for possible …
www.haaretz.com › opinion › .premium-iran-s-weak-point-1.8431233
Iran’s weak points, and how Israel and U.S. could exploit them …
2 days ago – The starting point for examining the continuation of the American-Iranian conflict should take into account that the initial Iranian response to the …
www.nbcnews.com › news › world › soleimani-had-it-coming-israel-c…
‘Soleimani had it coming’: Israelis cautiously welcome U.S. …
Jan 6, 2020 – Iran has vowed revenge and “harsh retaliation” after Soleimani’s killing, leaving some fearing that Israel could face retribution as a close U.S. …
www.reuters.com › article › us-iraq-security-israel-iran › israel-tries-to…
Israel tries to stand aside from U.S.-Iranian conflict – Reuters
Jan 6, 2020 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel sought on Tuesday to stand aside from the conflict between its close ally the United States and Iran, and said it …
VideosVAILABLE
Will Iran respond to Israel’s attacks? | Inside Story
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Israel Military on Heightened Alert After US Killing of Iranian …
VOA News YouTube – Jan 3, 2020
Tensions between Israel and Iran escalate
CNN.com – Aug 30, 2019
Israel: Trump “worthy of appreciation” over Iran – Netanyahu
Iran threatens Dubai and Israel, launches a ‘second round’ of …
CTV News YouTube – Jan 7, 2020
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2019
21 articles on intensifying threatening between Iran and Israel