Tag Archive for: Air attacks

VIDEO: Reports indicate Israel is preparing to retaliate against Iran imminently, possibly within 24 hours

Will Israel strike Iran? That is the big question.

The below video report says yes, and perhaps within the next 24 hours.

This journalist claims that a few hours ago now, American and Frenchy and German citizens have all been advised to immediately leave Iran. Qatar has diverted all flights away from Iranian airspace, and Netanyahu has called a meeting of ALL the leaders of the many parties in Israel to a meeting with the exception of the leaders of the Arabic and anti-Israel parties.

WATCH: Breaking News – Iran & Israel on Behold Israel with Amir Tsarfati [Start at 7.00 minutes mark.]

Took some time to find, but his quote is from the Times of Israel, paraphrasing the WSJ. It is close, but not exactly that.

Decades ago, I used to be friendly with a family, the patriarch of which was a General in a Western military. He was a brilliant, and very decent man, who has passed away some time ago now. So I think its okay to tell this story.

He was telling me about some of the RealPolitik of the Middle East. About how during the cold war, an ally of the Soviet Union, I think it was Iraq, was developing nuclear weapons by constructing a 40 MW nuclear reactor which has pretty much no practical use beyond making nukes. But neither the U.S. nor the Soviets wanted Iraq to have these weapons. So it was decided that the U.S. would ask Israel to fly a single sortie over the area and take out the reactor. The Soviets would stand up in the United Nations and condemn the action and demand a resolution of some kind against Israel. The U.S. was to veto it, and that would be the end of the issue. Everyone wins except maybe the one guy in Iraq that thought having nukes was a good idea. And that is exactly how it played out.

This tells us a lot about how things happen. The attack against Israel by Iran was clearly something along these lines. Calls where made, understandings where arrived at, and events took place in a way that would satisfy the honour of the Islamic regime in Tehran without any kind of actual war per se.

Let’s hope the Israeli response, if indeed it is real at all, has a similar trajectory.

DM Gallant to Pentagon: No choice but to retaliate against Iran

The Global Security Situation group

Axios reports that Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Sunday that Israel has no choice but to respond to the unprecedented missile and drone attack launched by Iran over the weekend, a U.S. official and another source briefed on the call told Axios.

The Israeli war cabinet convened on Monday to discuss Israel’s possible response.

Gallant told Austin in a phone call Sunday that Israel can’t allow ballistic missiles to be launched against its territory without a response, the U.S. official and the source briefed on the call said.

The report went on to say that Israel won’t accept an equation in which Iran responds with a direct attack every time Israel strikes targets in Syria, Gallant added.

The sources said Austin conveyed a similar message to the one President Biden gave Netanyahu on Saturday night, stressing the need to do everything possible to avoid further escalation.

The Pentagon and the Israeli ministry of defense said that Austin and Gallant also discussed efforts to establish an international and regional coalition against Iran.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Vlad Tepes Blog column with video posted by Eeyore is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Biden Knew About, AND APPROVED, Iran’s Planned Attack on Israel

Biden knew of the attack, signed off on it and then went on vacation to the beach. This is grounds for impeachment, at the very least.

Joe Biden not only had prior knowledge of Iran’s assault on Israel but also technically gave it the green light under certain conditions, according to a report from the Jerusalem Post.

HOLY CRAP: Joe Biden Approved Iran’s Assault on Israel ‘Within Certain Limits’

By MATT MARGOLIS

Iran informed Turkey in advance of its planned operation against Israel, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Sunday, adding that Washington had conveyed to Tehran via Ankara that any action it took had to be “within certain limits.”

Turkey, which has denounced Israel for its campaign on Gaza, said earlier on Sunday that it did not want a further escalation of tensions in the region.

The Turkish source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had spoken to both his US and Iranian counterparts in the past week to discuss the planned Iranian operation, adding Ankara had been made aware of possible developments.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Fidan to make clear that escalation in the Middle East was not in anyone’s interest.

“Iran informed us in advance of what would happen. Possible developments also came up during the meeting with Blinken, and they (the US) conveyed to Iran through us that this reaction must be within certain limits,” the source said…

More here.

Iran informed Turkey in advance of its operation against Israel – Turkish source

Iran informed Turkey in advance of its planned operation against Israel, conveyed through diplomatic channels, aiming to limit escalation in the Middle East.

By Reuters, April 14, 2024:

Iran informed Turkey in advance of its planned operation against Israel, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Sunday, adding that Washington had conveyed to Tehran via Ankara that any action it took had to be “within certain limits.”

Turkey, which has denounced Israel for its campaign on Gaza, said earlier on Sunday that it did not want a further escalation of tensions in the region.

The Turkish source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had spoken to both his US and Iranian counterparts in the past week to discuss the planned Iranian operation, adding Ankara had been made aware of possible developments…

Read more.

AUTHOR

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

U.S. Coalition Air Assault on ISIS Besieged town of Kobani, Syria

On Thursday, we posted a question on the Iconoclast blog of the NER, “Is the U.S. Going to save Syrian Kurds and Others in Besieged Kobani?”  AP reported  today of US coalition air attacks on Kobani and other location in ISIS occupied Syria and Iraq, “US-led planes strike fighters attacking Syria town”:

The Islamic State group’s assault on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani has sent more than 100,000 refugees streaming across the border into Turkey in recent days as Kurdish forces from Iraq and Turkey have raced to the front lines to defend the town.

Nawaf Khalil, a spokesman for Syria’s Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, said the strikes targeted Islamic State positions near Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, destroying two tanks. He said the jihadi fighters later shelled the town, wounding a number of civilians.

[…]

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the coalition’s strikes near Kobani came amid heavy fighting between the Islamic State group and members of the Kurdish force known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPK.

The Britain-based group, which relies on activists inside Syria, had no immediate word on casualties from Saturday’s strikes.

Kurdish fighter Majid Goran told the Associated Press by telephone from Kobani that two bombs were dropped over the nearby village of Ali Shar, at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT), but that the positions they struck were empty.

Turkey’s Dogan news agency reported Saturday that the sound of heavy fighting could be heard from the Turkish border village of Karaca. The agency said Kurdish forces retook some positions they had lost to the Islamic militants a few days ago. It did not cite a source for the report.

Dozens of people wounded in the fighting arrived in Turkey for treatment on Saturday, it said.

Another Kurdish fighter, Ismet Sheikh Hasan, said the Turkish military on Saturday night retaliated after stray shells landed on Turkish territory, firing in the Ali Shar region. He said the Turkish action left Kurdish fighters in the middle of the crossfire.

He said that on Friday, the Islamic militants were attacking the Kobani area from the east with tanks and artillery, advancing on Ali Shar and Haja. He said some 20 people were killed, including Kurdish fighters and civilians, while another 50 people were wounded.

The fighting around Kobani sparked one of the largest single outflows of refugees since Syria’s conflict began more than three years ago. The Syrian Kurdish forces have long been one of the most effective fighting units battling the Islamic State, but the tide has turned in recent weeks as the Islamic militants have attacked with heavy weapons likely looted from neighboring Iraq.

kurds fleeing war in syria

Turkish and Syrian Kurds break down fence at Border near Suruc, Turkey, 9-26-14. Source: AP Burhan Ozbilici.

This initial air attack at Kobani while welcome, needs more follow up action by the US Central Command and coalition partners.  They need to establish a 24/7 no fly zone over the northeastern province of Hasaka, the homeland of Syrian Kurdistan, Rojava. Turkish President Erdogan  returning from his UN General Assembly trip in comments in Ankara suggested to President Obama and Vice President Obama  establishment of a no-fly zone to protect against Assad regime air attacks on rebel forces and possible use against ISIS. However, he did not indicate what zone should be established.

The U.S. has to press the Turks to let Kurdish fighters create a humanitarian corridor. Most importantly, the Turks have to be pressed to permit USAF to fly round the clock missions out of Incirlik air base in eastern Turkey, which lies less than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Syrian border.  Turkey’s parliament passed legislation barring entry into adjacent Northern Iraq  of  U.S. Coalition forces during the opening stages of  Iraq War in 2003, necessitating the re-deployment of the U.S. 4th  Armored Division.

Beside the no-fly Zone over northeastern Syria, Kurdish fighters need training and heavy weapons, especially counter battery, anti-tank weapons to attack ISIS mortars, artillery and tanks. Many of these weapons were captured by ISIS from fleeing Iraqi troops in Northern Iraq and looted from Assad regime arsenals. More pressure has to be exerted on the Administration and Western partners, especially France and the UK, to provide air cover for the Kurdish population in Syria along with training and equipment for their fighters in Syria.  Currently, France restricts its air sorties to Iraq only.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review. The featured image is of a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor at a U.S. CENTCOM air base taxiing for a Syrian air Mission 9-23-14. Source AP.