Posted on April 14, 2024 by Scott Johnson in Biden Foreign Policy, Iran, Israel

After last night

The Iranian regime has been at war with Israel, the United States, and the West roughly since the Ayatollah overthrew the Shah of Iran. It is not a war that Israel has chosen. It is a war that has been thrust upon it by a regime of genocidal maniacs.

Thirty years after the fact the Court of Cassation in Buenos Aires issued a ruling blaming Iran for bombing the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina—a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires—on July 18, 1994, using its terrorist proxy Hezbollah. The attack left 85 dead and more than 300 wounded. The court called it a crime against humanity.

That’s how Iran likes to roll — indirectly, through proxies and cut-outs that diffuse responsibility. They’ve got Hamas. They’ve got Hezbollah. They’ve got the Houthis. Hamas of course perpetrated the October 7 massacre. Hezbollah and the Houthis have supported Hamas in the subsequent hostilities.

Last night was something different. Why is this attack different from all other attacks? The IRGC conducted a massive drone and missile (cruise and ballistic) attack on Israel from Iranian territory — this after President Biden had issued his warning not to do it. “Don’t,” he said.

According to IDF spokesman Peter Lerner, the IRGC lobbed 180 explosive drones, 120 ballistic missiles, and 30 cruise missiles at Israel last night. That’s a lot of firepower.

The Iranian regime has no respect for the Biden administration. It acts with impunity against American forces and American interests. It has Biden sized up as a clueless chump. It has Biden’s senior officials sized up as a team of idiots.

Take, for example, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s declaration a few days before Hamas’s October 7 massacre: “The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades.” We should be able to find common ground with the Iranian regime in its assessment of the Biden administration. Does anybody in the Biden administration really know what time it is?

Biden and his team have forfeited every element of deterrence against the Iranians. Rather, they have showered the mullahs with money and love while they have financed and accommodated the regime’s activities. They have communicated nothing but fear of the regime. The Biden administration seems not to understand that the regime cannot be appeased.

Now Biden seeks to hedge the Israelis in from responding to the massive Iranian attack. The attack, by the way, targeted Jerusalem among other areas throughout Israel. The Dome of the Rock escaped unscathed thanks to air defenses, but destroying an Islamic holy site and killing Muslims are A-Okay in pursuit of the genocide of the Jewish people. They have their priorities in order.

I heard on Fox News last night that Iran had avoided attacking populated areas in Israel. They seemed not to know that Jerusalem is Israel’s populous capital.

Biden can’t deter the Iranians, but he might be able to deter Israel. He has done so in Gaza and he means to do so with respect to Iran now.

Biden may deter our ally but he continues to embolden Iran. Weakness invites aggression. It’s an old story that Biden has never absorbed. It’s one reason why he has been wrong on every major foreign policy decision in the course of his overlong career.

Israeli forces joined with the United States, the Brits, the French, the Jordanians, and the Saudis to prevent the Iranian attack from wreaking havoc in Israel. Now Herr Khameni declares that he is done and warns the United States against responding. A few weeks ago in its cover story Britain’s Economist depicted Israel Alone. Maybe not so much, or maybe not entirely.

For his part, Biden seeks to comply with Iran’s “conclusion.” See the New York Post story posted here overnight. What’s wrong with this picture?

Herr Khameni continues his war on Israel and the United States through Iran’s proxies. It’s not over till it’s over. I don’t see how Israel can let last night’s attack go unanswered. Yet Iran continues to hold the full force of Hezbollah in reserve as a deterrent against Israel. I guess we shall see.

Incidentally, it helps to keep the sequence of events in mind. Last night’s attack didn’t start with Israel’s strike on the IRGC terrorist coordinator in Damascus. It started with Hezbollah’s attacks on northern Israel displaced some 80,000 Israeli citizens from their homes. These attacks are constituent parts of Hezbollah’s support of Hamas as well as Iran’s war on Israel. Israel cannot live with them.

Biden threatens Iran with the might of his diplomacy. In other words, he threatens to carry on with his clown show. We can’t be sure about much, but of that we can be sure.

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