The Rising Lion

It may be too soon to say how long the attacks on Iran will last as Israel presses its campaign commenced late Thursday. It’s not too soon, though, to say that millions around the world will be praying for the Jewish state and for the millions of ordinary Iranians who dread the ayatollahs’ tyranny. And will be encouraged by reports of the early successes that are starting to come in from the front, with Israel hitting major nuclear facilities with incredible accuracy. It is nearly half a century since the Islamic revolution brought the ayatollahs to power at Tehran. No one can say that Israel rushed into this. President Trump this morning marked this point on Truth Social. “I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done.” He went on to warn that Israel would be well-equipped.Prime Minister Netanyahu, in an address last night to Israelis and the world, declared: “Our actions against Iran’s proxy Hezbollah led to the establishment of a new government in Lebanon and the collapse of Assad’s murderous regime in Syria. The peoples of those two countries now have a chance for a different future, a better future. So, too, do the brave people of Iran. And I have a message for them. Our fight is not with you.”Israel’s fight, Mr. Netanyahu marked, “is with the brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years. I believe that the day of your liberation is near. And when that happens, the great friendship between our two ancient peoples will flourish once again.” Mr. Netanyahu added: “I want to assure the civilized world. We will not let the world’s most dangerous regime get the world’s most dangerous weapons.”The clearest rationale for the strike emerged from the IDF’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, when he explained that the crisis had “reached the point of no return.” That was a reference to Iran nearing the point where it would soon be impossible to prevent the ayatollahs’ regime from becoming a nuclear-armed power. “We cannot wait for another time to act, we have no choice,” General Zamir explained.The general embedded the strike against Iranian military and scientific targets in the long sweep of history, which, he contended, “has taught us that in the face of ambitions to destroy us, we must not bow our heads, and so we fight to preserve our existence.” Hence, he explained, the decision to unleash Israel’s military might against Iran. Quoth General Zamir: “Freedom is granted to those who are willing to fight for it.”While Israel is bracing itself for retaliation, there are at least hopes that the military response might not be as fearsome as the bluster from the ayatollahs. The government of Lebanon has warned Hezbollah, the remnant of the Iranian-backed terrorist organization in Lebanon, against getting involved in the fight. And the Arab states have long emerged against Iran in the broad struggle across the Middle East.A point that we’ll hear in coming weeks is that, as our Dean Karayanis put it, “Operation Rising Lion is a gift to the world — including, with luck, the Iranian people.” It is a point to mark that Iran has a large and brilliant population, and even in the thick of the fight Mr. Trump beckons the regime onto a peaceful quest to build a successful country. It’s likely to require a new revolution, newly possible thanks to the valor that is amazing the world.

The Rising Lion

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