Will Iran Try To Force a War Sooner Rather Than Later?

“Wait till you see what we do to Iran,” President Trump told supporters in Alaska Tuesday. The word “wait” seems operative here. The president is consulting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a joint operation, our Jotam Confino reports. Yet a war prior to Israel’s election and America’s midterms could be ill-timed for the two leaders. So will the mullahs, then, force war to interfere in elections? In an election eve blitz in the Israeli press, Mr. Netanyahu is highlighting the Iran menace. “This regime must fall,” he told Kan News on Wednesday, though adding that he doesn’t think it’s “realistic” to launch a military operation before the October 27 election in Israel. Messrs. Netanyahu and Trump speak on the phone daily, the Israeli leader said. As Mr. Trump tours key election states, he highlights the danger of allowing Iran to acquire nukes.Mr. Trump agrees with Israel over the Iranian threat, Mr. Netanyahu says. Yet that is only one reason the president stresses the need to block Iran’s path to an atomic weapon. He also needs to clarify to voters why they are paying more than $4 on average for a gallon of gas. The last thing Republicans need before November 3 is higher prices. Renewed military confrontation in the Mideast will surely cause price spikes — and scare voters over inflation.The mullahs seem eager to test America and Israel, knowing both are currently consumed by politics. Their top proxy militia, the Yemeni Houthis, is escalating attacks against Saudi Arabia, including a devastating strike today on the headquarters of the Kingdom’s oil giant, Aramco. Also, too, a container ship and a dry bulk carrier were sunk near Hormuz in the past 24 hours in what seems to be a new Iranian maneuver to regain control of the strait.One explanation of Iran’s new attacks can be found in a Soviet maxim, attributed to Lenin: “You probe with bayonets. If you find mush, you push. If you find steel, you withdraw.” The mullahs sense that their chief opponents, America and Israel, are distracted by politics, so they are testing what they can get away with. Yet a different reason for harassing America’s Mideast allies is possible too: The Islamic Republic is weakening and fears for its survival.Diplomats across the Mideast are reporting an increased sense at Tehran that enemies are planning a surprise attack. Fearing to yet again get caught unprepared, Iranian hawks are pressuring the leadership to launch a preemptive war, I-24 reported Wednesday. Broke, and sitting on top of a restive population, the regime might choose to strike before the elections in Israel and America — and force the hands of Messrs. Netanyahu and Trump. “In light of the numerous alerts across all fronts and the sensitivity of this period, the potential for escalation has increased,” the Israel Defense Forces’ chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, told troops today. “During this sensitive period, we must maintain vigilance and readiness on every front.” Was he referring to possible attacks by proxies, or by Iran itself? Either way, when it comes to Mideast enemies, to “wait” is a word to watch.

Will Iran Try To Force a War Sooner Rather Than Later?

Will Iran Try To Force a War Sooner Rather Than Later?

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