Archive for month: June, 2025

News Update

The war between Israel and Iran continues, with Israeli jets striking military and strategic targets including nuclear facilities, ballistic missile launchers and storage facilities, strategic oil and gas facilities and top military commanders, and Iran firing over 350 ballistic missiles and drones at Israeli major population centers. Israel has made it clear that its attacks are not directed against the Iranian people, only against the regime.

[Interestingly, the name “Rising Lion”, which is what the military operation is called, is also an allusion to the Iranian flag under the Shah, which featured a lion. This could be the Iranian people’s best chance to overthrow the evil regime and win their freedom back.]

While over 90% of the Iranian missiles and drones have been intercepted, the few missiles that have gotten through have cause 24 deaths and several hundred injured (most lightly).  Israeli jets have been specifically targeting missile launchers, which has prevented Iran from launching more than 30 – 50 missiles at a time. Iran is thought to have between 2 to 3 thousand ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel. The IDF has reportedly destroyed one third of Iran’s launchers.

Last night, an airstrike in Tehran eliminated Mohammad Kazemi, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence unit, and his deputy, Mohammad Hassan Mohaqiq. Kazmi was responsible for internal surveillance, espionage and neutralizing opponents of the regime. Mohaqiq played a key role in the regime’s terrorist operations against Israel, the West and countries in the Middle East.

New satellite images released today showed damage to several of Iran’s nuclear facilities, including Natanz and Fordow. The Fordow facility, a centerpiece of Iran’s nuclear program, is considered one of the most difficult targets for Israel to neutralize due to its location inside a mountain and the multiple layers of reinforced concrete protecting it.

Jordan said that it would shoot down or intercept missiles and drones flying over their airspace. Hezbollah announced that it would not take any action in the current conflict. Britain, Germany and France have been supportive of Israel’s right to defend itself against the Iranian nuclear threat.

President Trump has warned Iran not to attack the U.S. in any way, anywhere in the world, or face an overwhelming U.S. military response. He has called on Iran to come back to the negotiating table rather that continue to face more destruction. Last night’s Iranian missile attack against Tel Aviv caused damage to the US Embassy compound in the city. Ambassador Mike Huckabee announced the embassy’s response to the attack stating, “Our US Embassy in Israel & Consulate will officially remain closed today as shelter in place still in effect. Some minor damage from concussions of Iranian missile hits near Embassy Branch in Tel Aviv, but no injuries to US personnel.”

News Update

IDF forces arrested 7 Hamas terrorists in a raid on Beit Jinn, a town in the Damascus countryside, last night. About 100 soldiers, 10 military vehicles and drones reportedly took part in the operation. One terrorist was killed.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said that five of its Palestinian workers were killed, and others injured, in a Hamas attack on the bus that was transporting them to work. The GHF said that some workers might have been abducted. The GHF said, “The attack did not happen in a vacuum. For days, Hamas has openly threatened our team, our aid workers and the civilians who receive aid from us. Their threats have been met with silence.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency declared Iran in breach of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations for the first time in nearly two decades. In response, Iran notified the UN watchdog of plans to open a new uranium enrichment facility, though it provided no details on its location. The U.S. State Department announced it is withdrawing all nonessential personnel from embassies and diplomatic missions in Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait. Iran’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh warned the U.S. that in the event of war, “All its bases are within our reach, we have access to them, and without hesitation, we will target all of them in the host countries.”

The United States has warned countries planning to attend a United Nations conference organized by French President Emmanuel Macron that supporting anti-Israel measures could be seen as acting against American foreign policy interests and may trigger serious diplomatic consequences, including sanctions. The U.S. reiterated its opposition to any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state and expressed doubt that the upcoming discussions would help promote peace on the ground, and would instead threaten Israel’s security.

A motion to dissolve parliament, brought by the opposition, was defeated 61–53 just after midnight on Thursday. The government survived the vote after ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, acting on the orders of senior rabbis, sided with the coalition following a last-minute compromise on military draft legislation.

News Update

Navy commandos took control of the yacht “the Madeline” as it attempted to make its way to Gaza, and redirected it to Ashdod. The Foreign Ministry released a statement saying, “The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries. While Greta (Thunberg) and others attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity — and which included less than a single truckload of aid — more than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks, and in addition, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has distributed close to 11 million meals directly to civilians in Gaza. There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip — they do not involve Instagram selfies. The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the ‘celebrities’ will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the IDF to show the flotilla passengers the “horror video” of the October 7 massacre.

Over the weekend, 4 IDF soldiers were killed when a building they were clearing exploded and collapsed on them. The soldiers, all from the Yahalom combat engineering unit, were: Sgt. Major (res.) Chen Gross, Staff Sgt. Yoav Raver, Sgt. First Class Tom Rotstein and Sgt. Uri Yhonatan Cohen. an investigation found that the top floor of the building was booby trapped.

The remains of Mohammed Sinwar have been recovered, and positively identified, from a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in Khan Yunis. The tunnels contained command centers, weapons caches, and the bodies of more terrorists in the process of being identified.

News Update

The IDF and Shin Bet recovered the remains of Judi Weinstein-Haggai and Gad Haggai, U.S. and Israeli citizens, who were murdered in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 and then abducted to Gaza. Gad was 72 and Judi 70.

An IDF strike eliminated an Islamic Jihad terrorist who was operating in a command and control center in the yard of the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City. The army said the command and control center was used by the terrorist to plan and execute terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.

The U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the supply of humanitarian aid. The Security Council members that supported the proposal are: China, France, Russia, Britain, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, South Korea, Japan, Guyana, Ecuador, Slovenia, Malta and Switzerland. Acting US Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea defended the veto saying, “The United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself and defeat Hamas so that it can never again pose a threat. Our opposition to this resolution should not come as a surprise. The U.S. has made clear it will not support any effort that fails to condemn Hamas. We cannot allow the Council to reward terrorism.” She concluded with, “Let us instead demand that Hamas surrender and leave Gaza for good. A real agreement—one that frees the hostages, brings about a ceasefire, and allows Palestinians to break free from Hamas—is what we must aim for.”

The UN Security Council should become less antagonistic towards Israel when 5 new countries, which are more favorable to Israel, replace 5 antagonistic ones in the council in January. Algeria, Guyana, Slovenia — all hostile towards Israel — along with South Korea and Sierre Leone will be replaced by Colombia, Liberia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia and Bahrain.