We wake up today and realize no more Quds Day parades! And less pressure for other states in the Middle East to develop nuclear weapons programs. And a better chance for peace and development in the region. Watch what Saudi Arabia does now. And without the pressure of a USSR, an Iraq, Syria, or an Iran using terror to push the Palestinians for their own purposes, we have the opportunity for a better future for them. Here’s an article from a couple of days ago. See “A New Middle East Is Unfolding Before Our Eyes,” Time, 6-19-25.
To be fair to those who opposed this decision, I will mention AOC for the first, and maybe only time on this blog about Iran. But I also mention her comments here because I yesterday said Iran wasn’t following its own constitution regarding succession, and here I need to say (and what the majority believes) that Pres. Trump was clearly within his constitution powers to do what he did yesterday. “AOC says Trump’s Iran strikes “clearly grounds for impeachment”,” Newsweek, MSN, 6-22-25. “Ocasio-Cortez ripped the president’s action on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote, “The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers. He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.””
“LIVE: Pete Hegseth holds Pentagon briefing after US strikes on Iran nuclear sites,” AP, 6-22-25.
Just words (in Parliament) at present, we’ll see if there is action (from Bandar Abbas). “Iran reportedly moves to shut Strait of Hormuz after US attacks,” Politico, 6-22-25. “The Iranian parliament backed a measure to close the critical shipping route in response to U.S. airstrikes on nuclear sites in Iran, state media reported.” It doesn’t matter, in Iran, what the Parliament calls for. It is the IRGC and the NSC (and of course the Leader) who make these decisions. Israel and the U.S. have a number of analysts who are looking at thousands of variables for clues as to the Leader’s decisions over the next days and weeks.
“Rubio says U.S. is ready to meet with Iran after strikes, calls closing Strait of Hormuz “suicidal”,” CBS Face the Nation, 6-22-25. Sec. of State/NSA Rubio said that as of now Iran does not want to meet. The U.S. is waiting to hear.
Princeton should have dismissed this Iranian shill years ago, but they continue to support him. He’s never written anything but pro-Regime articles. “After US attack, Iran could reconsider its nuclear strategy,” Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Middle East Eye, 6-22-25. He argues that Iran should leave the NPT (but it wasn’t complying anyway). Notice the essence of Mousavian’s argument—First, that at the end of the 60 day window that the U.S. withdrew its negotiators so the Iranians could not get the agreement concluded. This is not what happened, nothing in the news indicates this, and there is no contemporaneous record of such. Second, notice his complaint that Trump didn’t wait the full two weeks. But the world saw that Trump said Within two weeks, not After two weeks. It hurts to get tricked into losing the nuclear weapons program, maybe he thinks Trump was speaking with taarof. See “Trump to decide on US action in Israel-Iran conflict within two weeks,” BBC, 6-19-25. Here’s the quote from Pres. Trump—”Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”
Remember how Gaddafi Libya gave up his nuclear weapons program in 2003–by being terrified he was next. I wonder what the Leader is thinking in his underground bunker now that the U.S. has used 14 GBU-57s?
Classic. Even CNN fooled. “Meanwhile, flight-tracking data reviewed by CNN showed multiple US B-2 stealth bombers taking off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on Friday night and heading west. A U.S. defense official clarified that no formal order has been issued to launch any military operation involving the bombers. As of Saturday, the B-2s were flying over the Pacific Ocean and appeared to be enroute to Guam, a key U.S. base in the Western Pacific.” See “Israel Strikes Iran’s Bandar Abbas, Destroys F-14 Jets As US B-2 Bombers Head To Guam,” News X, 6-22-25.
“Gulf states on high alert after US strikes Iran’s nuclear sites,” Reuters, 6-22-25. We will see if the Regime wants to survive in its current state or if it wants to risk its future by attacking the U.S. or other states around it.
One lonely voice at the (former) newspaper of record. “Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision,” Bret Stephens, NYT, 6-22-25. “Iran’s hopes of acquiring a nuclear weapon have probably been seriously degraded. And adversaries everywhere, including in Moscow and Beijing, must now know that they are not dealing with a paper tiger in the White House. The world is safer for it.”
“World Leaders React to the U.S. Strikes on Iran,” NYT, 6-22-25. Again the UN Secretary General does not address the country who started the tumult, but waits to admonish the U.S. and Israel for self defense and non-proliferation. I’ve said it before, countries are not equal like units or shapes on a playing board or votes in a General Assembly. If the UN wants peace, it has to take moral stands.
Someone please tell NPR and the NYT and others that the aim of the U.S. strikes was to end the Iranian nuclear weapons program. What is the difference between destroyed and severely hurt and obliterated and etc.? For example, “Satellites show damage to Iran’s nuclear program, but experts say it’s not destroyed,” NPR, 6-22-25. Do the “independent analysts” want the U.S. to use an atomic bomb on Fordow? What is a legitimate question, though, is where is the HEU? David Sanger of the NYT can ask this, “Officials Concede They Don’t Know the Fate of Iran’s Uranium Stockpile,” NYT, 6-22-25. “Vice President JD Vance told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, referring to a batch of uranium sufficient to make nine or 10 atomic weapons. Nonetheless, he contended that the country’s potential to weaponize that fuel had been set back substantially because it no longer had the equipment to turn that fuel into operative weapons.” … And there was growing evidence that the Iranians, attuned to Mr. Trump’s repeated threats to take military action, had removed 400 kilograms, or roughly 880 pounds, of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity. That is just below the 90 percent that is usually used in nuclear weapons. The 60-percent enriched fuel had been stored deep inside another nuclear complex, near the ancient capital of Isfahan. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said by text that the fuel had last been seen by his teams of United Nations inspectors about a week before Israel began its attacks on Iran. In an interview on CNN on Sunday he added that “Iran has made no secret that they have protected this material.” Asked by text later in the day whether he meant that the fuel stockpile — which is stored in special casks small enough to fit in the trunks of about 10 cars — had been moved, he replied, “I do.” That appeared to be the mystery about the fuel’s fate that Mr. Vance was discussing.”
“Iran’s supreme leader faces his defining moment,” Financial Times, 6-22-25. The Supreme Leader has to be careful. If he overplays his hand, the U.S. may decide to finally cut the head off the snake.
In China’s interest—they get so much of their oil from the Gulf. “US urges China to dissuade Iran from closing Strait of Hormuz,” Reuters, 6-22-25.
“Analysis: How might Iran retaliate against the US?,” FDD’s Long War Journal, 6-22-25. “[R]egime media circulated a video, purportedly filmed near the Fordow nuclear facility, then insisted the situation was “calm” and there was “no visible sign of a strike.” In classic fashion, the Iranian regime is both minimizing the damage and threatening retaliation for an attack that it claims wasn’t serious in the first place.” The influential Long War Journal makes another appearance in the blog. “Tehran has historically relied on proxies—especially in Iraq—to target American positions. Between October and December 2023 alone, Iran-backed militias carried out at least 160 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria. One of the most significant precedents came in 2020, when Iran responded to the US assassinating Qassem Soleimani, then-commander of the IRGC Qods Force, at Baghdad International Airport. While the current military campaign has overshadowed that event in scale, Tehran viewed Soleimani’s death as a major escalation. In retaliation, it launched a ballistic missile barrage on Ayn al Asad airbase in Iraq—but not before warning the US via Swiss diplomats and the Iraqi government, ensuring minimal American casualties. The response was forceful but calculated—meant to show strength without provoking a full-scale war. … Regime ideologue Hossein Shariatmadari, who enjoys close ties to the supreme leader, perhaps captured Iran’s likely response best. “It is now our turn. Without delay, and as a first step, we must launch missile strikes against the US naval fleet in Bahrain and simultaneously close the Strait of Hormuz to American, British, German, and French ships,” Shariatmadari wrote. He ended his statement by citing a Quranic verse: “And kill them wherever you find them.” Tehran’s response might include a combination of all these threats: striking US bases, assassination attempts, and disrupting the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Trump Meets the Moment on Iran: The President bombs three nuclear sites to spare the world from an intolerable risk,” WSJ Editorial Board, 6-22-25.
I am predicting the martyr path to be chosen by the Ayatollah. His whole life is crumbling around him. He will strike out. But I’m not how many persons will actually think of him as a martyr …. “Will Iran Again Sip the ‘Poison’ of a Forced Peace, or Escalate?,” NYT, 6-22-25.
“Benjamin Netanyahu vs. Qassem Soleimani,” WSJ, 6-22-25.