LOS ANGELES.–Hitting Lebanon with more air strikes to neutralize Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists, Israel struck the border zone between Lebanon and Syria, claiming is was a smuggling channel for Iranian weapons. Lebanon’s state-run news agency said there were at least 10 air strikes in the border crossing region with Syria, killing over 1,400 Lebanese citizens, driving another 1.2 million from their homes. Hezbollah continues to fuel the Israel strikes launching another 100 rockets into northern Israel. Rumors suggest that Israel went after the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed Oct. 1 in an Israeli bombing of Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut. Israel apparently targeted Nasrallah’s replacement Hashem Saffiedine who was reportedly meeting at Hezbollah’s central intelligence agency. Israel killed Mohammed Rashid Akafi, head of Hezbollah Communication office yesterday.
Lebanese citizens need to let their representatives know that they don’t want to be dragged into the Ayatollah’s war with Israel through its puppet Hezbollah militia. Hezbollah, unlike Hamas in Gaza, is technically part of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. So when it comes to Hezbollah firing rockets into Israel, the orders come from Tehran. As a sovereign country, Lebanon must decide whether its controlled by Iran through Hezbollah or wants an independent state living in peace with Israel. Israel targeted the Masnaa Border Crossing to stop Iran from supplying weapons from Syria into Lebanon. Israel has been fighting fierce gun battles with Hezbollah in limited ground invasion started on Oct. 2. Israel’s Lebanon ground invasion was designed to stop more Heabollah rocket fire into northern Israel, driving some 80,000 Israelis from the homes and villages.
Hezbollah was ordered by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to fire rockets into Israel, hoping to weaken Israel with a two-front war, forcing Israel to give up in Gaza. Well, Israel hasn’t given up getting Hamas Leader and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, currently hiding in Gaza’s military tunnels. “First of all, our mission is to make sure they’re [Hezbollah] not there,” said Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani describing ground operations in southern Lebanon. Ayatollah has decided to drag Lebanon into his proxy war with Israel, claiming Iran leads the “resistance” against the Zionist state. Iran knows that it can’t get rid of Israel but, more importantly, has no cultural and genetic ties to Palestinians. Making its war on Zionism a part of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Ayatollah continues his fraudulent axis of resistance. Whatever beef Palestinians have with Israel, it’s of no consequence to Iran.
Ayatollah Khamenei, fresh off 200 missiles strikes in Israel, wants to gaslight the Arab world that he still leads the resistance against Israel. But with Lebanon caught in the cross hairs, Lebanon officials should tell the Ayatollah to back off. Hezbollah spent years intimidating the Lebanese people by seizing sovereign territory in south Lebanon. Now Hezbollah has a permanent presence in the area, roaming free to fire rockets at Israel. “If the Israeli entity take any step or measure against us, our retaliation will be stronger than the previous one,” said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, referring to Iran’s Oct. 1 throwaway missile attack where all incoming missiles were neutralized by the U.S. navy and Israel’s Iron Dome. Iran attacked Israel April 13 to protest the July 31 targeted killing in Tehran of Hamas leader in exile, Ismail Haniyeh. Ayatollah uses its anti-Semitism to rally support for Iran.
Lebanon finds itself in a hostage situation with the Ayatollah controlling the future of Beirut without any way of protesting. Using the Lebanese as pawns, there’s little the battered central government can do to stop Hezbollah’s destructive mission in northern Israel, to strike Israel enough to see Israelis end the limited border operation. Coming up on the one-year anniversary of Oct. 7, most Israelis care about what’s going in Lebanon. Hezbollah made the arbitrary decision to back Hamas in Gaza. Ayatollah knows that ordering Hezbollah to fire missiles into Israel was bound to cause serious consequences. Hamas terrorists also continue to fire rockets into Israel, though that it’s happened less-and-less. Netanyahu must decide whether to retaliate against the Ayatollah or keep his focus only on Hamas and Beirut. Israel may have to respond to Iran’s latest missile strikes.
Netanyahu has few good choices because 81-year-old President Joe Biden no longer calls the shots in Ukraine or the Mideast. U.S. government should have struck Tehran long ago for its malign activities in the Red Sea, making commercial shipping more difficult. If Biden had his wits about him, he would have coordinated long ago to hit Tehran’s oil infrastructure as many experts suggest. Ayatollah Khamenei has been running amok for a long time and needs to be taken down a few notches. All the rumblings about Khamenei hitting Israel again with another missile strike, the U.S. has more options that could send a loud message to the Ayatollah. Time has come for Biden to show that he won’t let the Ayatollah destabilize the Mideast anymore. Unfortunately, Biden doesn’t seem on top of things enough to know what to do in the Mideast and elsewhere.
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.
