Israel Report - Monday 23 June 2025
Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.
Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
[Jeremiah 51; 17-20]
The usual parade of talking heads on a myriad of podcasts and You Tube interviews are this morning spewing forth great venom against the United States for daring to have struck Iran over the weekend.
Hundreds of thousands of deluded people subscribe to their transmissions.
The line-up includes biblically illiterate luminaries such as; Judge Andrew Napolitana, weapons inspector Scott Ritter, Colonel Douglas Macgregor, Professor John Mearsheimer , ex- CIA director Ray McGovern, ambassador Charles Freeman, Journalist Pepe Escobar, the list is almost endless.
This is unconstitutional they say. It is Trump following the orders of a genocidal hegemonic tyrant named Bibi Netanyahu and it will bring down the ire of the world.
They rage against the concept of a surprise attack, the strategic confusing of the enemy with subterfuge and deception when the whole matter should have first been brought before Congress.
What is ignored is that Iran has indulged in the very same tactics in using their proxies surrounding Israel to murder, rape, and kidnap Israeli citizens, and murder Jews and Arabs through Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and others for decades.
Did anyone hear of Khamanei asking his “Majles” for the green light to unleash a surprise attack by his Iranian regional proxies upon Israel on October 7 2023?
They portray Khamanei as a rather kindly senior gentleman who is polite, gentle, restrained who follows the U.N Charter to the letter .
He apparently has no desire for nuclear weaponry - just small amounts of Uranium to produce enough electricity for his citizens.
That would entail 3-4% enrichment. The question must be asked though that if this is true why the current enrichment to 60+%, and if it is all for peaceful use why is it being hidden from view under the mountains of Fordow?
These ‘experts” do not seem to understand that Iran is governed by adherents to the Shia branch of Islam.
They are not interested in making real estate deals, or signing up to peace agreements.
Shia Islamic eschatology centres on the belief in the Mahdi, [messiah] a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, who is believed to be in occultation (hidden) and will soon reappear to establish Islamic justice and peace on earth.
This belief is intertwined with the concept of raj'a, the return of certain individuals, particularly Shia Imams, to this world before the Day of Judgment. The Mahdi's return is anticipated alongside specific signs and events - namely war, destruction and chaos.
For over 40 years the leadership of Iran has openly sworn to bring death and destruction to Israel and America.
These media types are viewing the situation through the eyes of those without any knowledge or interest in what the Hebrew prophets have to say about these very times.
The God of Israel is bringing His precious and chosen people through the fires of afliction so that they turn again to Him and His Messiah.. and He is doing so though their sworn enemies.
In the end, only He can save His people. And He will.
The events of today, as painful as they will be, have nothing to do with geopolitics, hegemony, border expansion, military might or regional ambitions - it has all to do with the hand of the God of Israel bringing His people to final redemption.
A time for any thinking person to ensure they are found to be on the right side of history? To be fighting against the God of Israel has eternal and personal consequences.
Operation Midnight Hammer…
U. S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force General Dan “Razin” Caine [below] have now briefed reporters on the historic strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer.
U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropped 14 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bombs on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities, Hegseth and Caine confirmed.
The attack marked the first operational use of the MOP. A total of 125 aircraft, including the B-2s, supported the aerial component of the operation.
The Isfahan facility was struck with “more than two dozen” Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles (TLAMs) launched from a single submarine somewhere in the region.
The mission “was designed to severely degrade Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure,” Caine said. “It was planned and executed across multiple domains and theatres with coordination that reflects our ability to project power globally with speed and precision at the time and place of our nation’s choosing. This was a highly classified mission with very few people in Washington knowing the timing or nature of this plan.”
The main strike package, consisting of seven B-2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members, “proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area, the aircraft completed multiple in-flight refueling.”
Once over land, the B-2s linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex, tightly-timed maneuver requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace, all done with minimal communications.
All told, more than 125 U.S. aircraft participated in this mission, including B-2 stealth bombers, multiple flights of fourth- and fifth- generation fighters, dozens and dozens of air refueling tankers, a guided missile submarine, and a full array of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as hundreds of maintenance and operational professionals. Caine told reporters.
This was the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history, and the second longest B-2 mission ever flown.
Caine stated that while final battle damage will take some time, initial “assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.”
It is being separately reported that the strike on Fordow severely damaged the facility, but did not completely destroy it.
At today’s press conference, Hegseth [above] framed the strikes on Iran as a singular operation that is “not open-ended,” but stressed that the U.S. military was prepared to respond if necessary to any further threats.
The secretary also highlighted unspecified force protection measures taken at locations “especially in Iraq, Syria, and the Gulf,” ahead of the operation.
At the same time, even with Operation Midnight Hammer’s success, it’s far too early to call anything ‘mission accomplished.’ So far, Iran’s retaliatory actions in the wake of the U.S. strikes have been limited to additional attacks on Israel.
Still, Iranian officials have already said they reserve the right to respond more directly to the U.S. military’s actions, and concerns do remain about the possibility of a larger regional conflict now emerging.
In other words, this isn’t over just yet.
Medvedev; Many Nations Ready to Supply Iran with Nuclear Warheads…
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Moscow for talks with Putin. [below]
He asserted that the Trump administration had effectively disqualified itself from any future peace initiatives. "They have proved that they are not men of diplomacy, and they only understand to consult with each other," Araghchi told reporters.
In Moscow, Dmitry Medvedev, ex-Russia president and the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, launched an attack on President Trump, accusing him of plunging the United States into a new war in the Middle East.
Medvedev published his reaction on Telegram, stating bluntly, "Trump, who came in as a peacemaker president, has started a new war for the U.S."
The former Russian president questioned the effectiveness of the US operation, saying it had failed to achieve any substantial military objectives.
"Critical infrastructure of the nuclear fuel cycle appears to have been unaffected or sustained only minor damage," he wrote. "The enrichment of nuclear material - and now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons - will continue."
Medvedev claimed that "a number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads." He did not identify which nations he was referring to.
Medvedev further stated that the Israeli population was now living under constant threat, with explosions rocking multiple parts of the country. "The US is now entangled in a new conflict, with prospects of a ground operation looming on the horizon," he added.
He also suggested that the attacks had politically strengthened Iran. "Iran's political regime has survived - and in all likelihood, has come out even stronger. The people are rallying around the country's spiritual leadership, including those who were previously indifferent or opposed to it."
Iran Orders Closure of Strait of Hormuz………
Iran’s parliament has voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping channel through which around 20% of the world’s daily oil flows.
The move, which could block $1 billion in oil shipments per day, is likely to send oil prices soaring.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, jumped 3.9% to $80 a barrel on Sunday, while US crude rose 4.3% to $77 a barrel.
It will come into effect pending a final decision by Iran’s Supreme Council.
The strait connecting the Gulf of Oman with the Persian Gulf is one of the world’s most critical choke-points — just 20 miles wide at its narrowest point.
Shipping lanes in the strait — the area that is deep enough for ships to pass — are even narrower at less than two miles wide in each direction, making them much more vulnerable to attacks and threats of closure.
The channel is shallow, making it a particular target for underwater mining, while the narrowness of the strait makes passing vessels vulnerable to attack from shore-based missiles or interception by patrol boats or helicopters.
The two central oil-producing countries that use this route are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The reason Iran can attack the Straits of Hormuz with impunity without affecting their customer- allies, including China - is that the media has unreported the completion of the China-Iran railway link, which is a significant milestone within China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), specifically reviving the ancient Silk Road through modern infrastructure.
Iran can shut down the Straits of Hormuz, and it will NOT impact the export of oil to China. The China-Iran railway link, part of the broader China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor, primarily relies on the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran (KTI) Railway as its critical connector.
The agreement was signed between China, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, finalizing the KTI Railway agreement in 2013. The construction began in December 2014. The first direct freight train from China to Iran arrived in Tehran on February 15, 2016.
From a geopolitical perspective; You have the Houthis attacking ships in the Red Sea.
With this rail line, Iran can shut down the Strait of Hormuz, and the Houthis keep the pressure on, stopping the traffic through the Suez Canal. They have the ability to impact the energy flow out of the Middle East significantly.
Time to top up your tank?
Israel Report