LOS ANGELES.–Saying he would destroy Israel, Iran’s 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been forced to backtrack, not asking his 63-year-old foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to contact 79-year-old President Donald Trump to get 75-year-old Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war. Iran faces potential regime change, or if that doesn’t happen, a weakened military to the point that Iran becomes defenseless. Netanyahu military planners have methodically gone after Iran’s aerial defense systems and missile production facilities together with its nuclear enrichment plants. Iran’s nuclear enrichment does nothing for deterrence unless Iran can back it up with an A-bomb. Doesn’t look like Iran has an active A-bomb program, leaving the Ayatollah with 60% enriched uranium, utterly useless for Iran’s military defense.
So, when looking at Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, Netanyahu said he didn’t know Iran’s breakout time to a nuclear bomb, assuming Iran has such a program. Preemptively striking Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites, Netanyahu had other ulterior motives in mind, most likely regime change. He recently told the Iranian people to hunker down or get out of Tehran while Israel works to degrading the Ayatollah’s military capability. But judging by Iran’s throwaway missile response, it’s now in control of its airspace, giving Israel and free reign to decimate Iran’s ballistic missile production and stockpiles. U.N.’s Secretary-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] Rafael Grossi said Israel could have taken out 15,000 advanced centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment plant. Ayatollah got more than he bargained for calling for Israeli’s destruction.
Ayatollah’s proxy war against Israel through Iranian-backed Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis have come back to haunt him. Under his watch since the death of Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollha Ruhollah Khomenei June 3, 1989, Ali Khamenei has hosted Holocaust denier conferences, provoking Israel for years. His band of terrorist proxy groups met their demise after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre that slaughtered 1,200 Israelis, taking another 251 hostage. Now Ayatollah faces the full force of the Israeli military, considered one of the most powerful militaries on Earth. Khamenei promoted Iran as the most powerful military in the Middle East. In just four short days, Netanyahu has exposed Iran’s military as a sham, unable to defend itself against rather ordinary Israeli air strikes. Now the Ayatollah faces weakening his military to the point of defenselessness.
Trump got the message he wanted from Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that he was ready to give Trump what he wanted in a new nuke deal. “I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately before it’s too late,” Trump said at the G7 meeting in Kananaskis, Canadian Rockies. Trump refused to sign a hastily prepared G7 statement about ending the war. Trump wants to give Netanyahu the runway to complete his military objectives in Iran, including degrading the Iranian military to the point it can no longer wage war. Ayatollah’s underlings like Araghchi know that if Netanyahu continues his bombardment of Iran there won’t be much left. Trump is the first and only U.S. president to put his faith in Netanyahu to do what’s best for Mideast peace. Netanyahu believes the Iranian regime must be neutralized.
Trump seems get the big picture of letting Netanyahu degrade the Iranian military before he signs onto any ceasefire plan. Foreign Minister Araghchi knows what’s at stake and has asked Trump to intervene with Netanyahu. Trump finds himself under pressure at the G7 to sign onto an immediate demand for a cessation of hostilities. After years of watching Israel attacked by Iranian-backed proxy groups, Trump has no plans of telling Netanyahu to stop before he’s completed his military objectives. Before it was destroying Iran’s nuclear capability, now it looks like Netanyahu seeks regime change. Ayatollah wants to make a deal now because his ballistic arsenal isn’t sufficient to defend his country against more sophisticated militaries like Israel’s. What was the Ayatollah thinking all these years waging proxy war against Israel? He’s now finding out.
Well the world found out over the last four days that Iran is a paper tiger, a fake military with no real air force only a ton of ballistic missiles. Four days into its war with Israel, Iran has had its aerial defense systems neutralized, giving Israel free reign to do what it wishes with its nuclear enrichment and missile production facilities. Trump refused to sign onto a G7 statement today calling for an immediate end to hostilities between Israel and Iran. Trump knows Netanyahu needs more time to complete the destruction of Iran’s military, leaving the 91 million population entirely vulnerable to an internal coup or outside attack. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei finally got his comeuppance after years of attacking Israel with his Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi proxy forces. Trump has no problem going back to the table but only after Netanyahu has finished the job.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.