At this moment, we are still waiting for the other shoe to drop. On October 1st, Iran launched approximately 200 missiles at Israel, and many of them hit their targets. Since that time, Israeli officials have been promising that there will be a very strong military response. Could that military response include a strike on Iran’s nuclear program? That is what former prime minister Naftali Bennett wants, and he is the most popular politician in Israel right now. There has also been speculation that Iran’s oil fields could be hit. But earlier this week it seemed like that was out of the question, because CNN was reporting that the coming Israeli strike on Iran would be “limited to military targets” only.
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have assured the U.S. that a counterstrike on Iran will be limited to military targets rather than oil or nuclear facilities, according to a source.
Other media outlets were reporting the same thing, and many of us trusted those reports.
But now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it abundantly clear that those reports were not accurate.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a swipe at President Biden’s administration Tuesday, stating firmly that Israel – not the U.S. – will decide how best to retaliate against Iran’s recent aggression.
Biden administration officials have urged Israel to show restraint against both Iran and Hezbollah, the terrorist proxy group operating in Lebanon. Netanyahu’s regime has mulled action against Iran since it fired roughly 200 missiles into Israeli territory on Oct. 1.
“We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Israel is going to strike Iran. When it happens, we shall see what targets they have decided to hit.
Of course, the Iranians have pledged to hammer Israel no matter what type of attack happens.
And if Iran sends more missiles into Israel, the Israelis will strike Iran even harder than they did the first time.
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We are rapidly approaching a point of no return, and the all-out war between Israel and Iran that I have been warning about for years is at the door.
Needless to say, the Israelis and the Iranians are not talking to one another directly, but there had been hope that the U.S. might be able to get the Iranians to restrain themselves.
Unfortunately, any hope of that happening appears to be gone because Iran has “halted indirect talks with Washington” at this stage.
Tehran has halted indirect talks with Washington due to the escalating regional tension, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, Oct. 13, as Israel continued to plan a retaliatory strike against his country.
“Currently, we do not see any ground for these talks, until we can get past the current crisis,” Araghchi said while visiting Oman, which has played an intermediary role in the talks. His comments were reported by Iranian state-owned news outlet Press TV.
“Oman has always contributed greatly to solving the regional problems; and regarding Iran and the US, it has always tried to play a positive role in conveying a message or preparing the ground for negotiations,” he said.
Once Israel sends missiles into Iran, there will be no going back.
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Of course, a point of no return between Israel and Hezbollah has already been crossed.
Israeli forces have been conducting ground operations in southern Lebanon, and Netanyahu is pledging that his nation will continue “to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon.”
“We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon – also in Beirut,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed during a visit to the Golani training base near Binyamina, where four IDF soldiers were killed in a drone strike on Sunday.
“We are fighting a tough campaign against Iran’s Axis of Evil that wants to totally destroy us,” Netanyahu said. “They won’t make it. We keep fighting. We pay painful prices, but we have tremendous achievements – and we will continue to achieve them.”
About five million people live in Lebanon, and approximately one-fifth of them have been instructed to evacuate from their homes by the IDF.
Around a fifth of people in Lebanon have fled their homes, and around a quarter of the country is under Israeli military evacuation orders, according to the Middle East director of the United Nations Refugee Agency.
Lebanon’s entire population is around five million people.
Hezbollah has been wounded, but it is far from defeated.
I am expecting the fight for southern Lebanon to be quite dramatic.
Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post is reporting that two IDF tanks actually entered Syrian territory on Monday.
Two Israeli tanks crossed into Syria on Monday, according to Israeli media, citing Syrian reports.
According to the reports, the tanks positioned themselves near the border town of Kwdana/Kodna, south of Quneitra, which has been the site of several tank battles, most famously in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
So far, the Jerusalem Post is the only major outlet that I have seen report this. If this is true, Israel could also soon find itself directly fighting the Syrian military.
Is the IDF spreading itself too thin? We shall soon find out.
Meanwhile, there have been some very alarming developments on the Korean peninsula.
The North Koreans have destroyed a very important road that was supposed to be used as a major highway when the two countries eventually reunited, and they are warning that “war may break out any moment.”
North Korea has warned that “war may break out any moment” after South Korea allegedly flew drones into Pyongyang – and it retaliated by destroying roads linking the countries.
The stark warning came after the country’s foreign ministry claimed that South Korean drones carrying propaganda leaflets critical of leader Kim Jong-un had flown over the North Korean capital Pyongyang three times. They claimed that the drones carrying leaflets filled with “inflammatory rumours and rubbish” were flown over the city on Oct. 3, 9 and 10.
The North then blew up sections of road that, while not in use, are seen as symbolic of efforts to improve ties and, eventually, reunite the peninsula.
I have not written much about rising tensions on the Korean peninsula because I have been so focused on the Middle East, Russia and China.
But there is no doubt that this is a very serious situation.
The North Koreans are well prepared for an invasion of South Korea, and if Kim Jong Un senses an opportunity he may pull the trigger.
Needless to say, the Biden administration is desperate to keep another major conflict from erupting right now, because another major conflict would make the Democrats look bad.
This is especially true for the Middle East. If Iran and Israel start lobbing lots of missiles at one another, that could be the biggest “October surprise” that we have ever seen.
Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
Abby Trivett