What American Jews Want Trump To Do About Iran, The Forward
“J Street, the pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group, said that while there is deep concern for the people of Israel under attack, the Trump administration must intervene to end the ‘cycle of retaliation and escalation’ by both sides. Trump, hugely popular in Israel, is uniquely posed to deescalate the conflict, he said. ‘The most important thing that needs to happen now is to deescalate,’ Jeremy Ben-Ami, the organization’s president, said in an interview. ‘The worst outcome would be a broader array of targets being hit, drawing the US in and expanding this into a regional or even multinational conflict.’”
Germany, Britain and France are Harshly Critical of Israel in Gaza but Have its Back with Iran. Why?, JTA
“The three European nations’ current backing for Israel is not inconsistent with their position a decade ago, said Ilan Goldenberg, who held senior Iran-related positions in the Obama administration state and defense departments. In both instances, he said, the Europeans are seeking the best means to keep Iran from going nuclear; the difference is, Iran is now much closer to a weapon. ‘Our European allies probably feel, ‘This is not what we wanted, but now that we’re here, we’ll certainly be happier if it ends in a way where Iran’s program is set back as much as possible,” said Goldenberg, now a senior vice president at J Street, a liberal Jewish Middle East policy group.”
Israel Warns 300,000 People in Tehran to Evacuate as Trump Issues Ominous Message, AP
“Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate the middle of Iran’s capital as Israel’s air campaign on Tehran appeared to broaden on the fourth day of an intensifying conflict. […] US President Donald Trump posted an ominous message on his social media site later Monday calling for the immediate evacuation of Tehran. ‘IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,’ Trump wrote, adding that ‘Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!’”
Israeli Tank Fire Kills 51 People in Gaza Crowd Trying to Get Food, Reuters
“Israeli tanks fired into a crowd trying to get aid from trucks in the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 51 people, according to medics, in one of the bloodiest incidents yet in mounting violence as desperate residents struggle for food. Video shared on social media showed around a dozen mangled bodies lying in a street in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military acknowledged firing in the area and said it was looking into the incident.”
Don’t Give Up on Diplomacy With Iran, Foreign Affairs
Ali Vaez writes, “If Trump is committed to a nuclear-free Iran, his best bet is to get the Iranians and Israelis to stop the war and bring Tehran back to the negotiating table. Without a deal, Iran’s frightened government seems more likely than not to sprint for nuclear weapons as conditions allow. Then Trump would have to either accept a nuclear Iran or join another Israeli assault on the country, risking precisely the kind of catastrophic Middle East entanglement he promised to avoid.”
Israel Attacks Iran’s State Television, Live on the Air, The New York Times
“A news anchor – a woman identified by Iranian state media as Sahar Emami – was speaking live on the air when an explosion shook the building, followed by the sound of breaking glass and screams, all carried live on television. The screen filled with smoke and debris as the anchor hurried off.”
G7 Leaders Urge ‘De-escalation’ but Stop Short of Calling for Israel-Iran Ceasefire, BBC
“The leaders’ statement, published as Trump left Canada, said Israel had a right to defend itself, and that Iran was a source of terror that should not have a nuclear weapon. Its call for a resolution of the crisis that led to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East amounted to a diplomatic compromise that preserved G7 unity but watered down the statement’s impact.”
Iranian Officials Project Strength but Their People Decry Silence on Safety, The Washington Post
“Throughout Sunday and Monday, Iranian state television played clips of pro-government rallies and focused coverage on the damage in Israel wrought by Iran’s retaliatory missile barrages. On Sunday, however, Tehran residents began a mass exodus from the capital city for fear of being caught up in the conflict. Traffic jams on roads leading out of the city, especially to the north, lasted well into Monday.”
Iranian Missiles Impact Central Israel in Morning Barrage, Injuring 5, The Times of Israel
“The Iranian attack set off air raid sirens across large swaths of the country, from the north down to areas of the Negev in the south. Sirens were triggered in the Jerusalem area, although not in the capital itself, where explosions from air defense interceptors were heard.”
As Other Arab States Condemn Israeli Attacks on Iran, Syria Is Notably Silent, The New York Times
“The [Assad] regime was among Iran’s closet allies in the region, providing key support as Iran built up its network of anti-Israel militias, the so-called Axis of Resistance, across the Levant. But since coming to power, the new government has made clear that Iran’s proxies are no longer welcome in Syria and pledged that it would not allow any armed groups to launch attacks into Israel from Syrian soil.”
‘This War Is Not Helping Us’, The Atlantic
Arash Azizi writes, “For years, the debate outside Iran was theoretical: Would a military strike on the country help its people topple a hated regime, or would it cause even oppositionists to rally ’round the flag in their nation’s defense? Now the answer to this question is being determined by the hour, and it is neither binary nor simple. Even ardent anti-regime activists I spoke with were hard-pressed to support Israeli attacks that have already killed almost 200 civilians, according to Iran’s health ministry. Some had cheered the killings of certain repressive military figures in the early hours of the strikes, but the mood has since turned to terror, the priority simple survival.”
Israel’s Iran Mission Creeps Into Regime Change, The Washington Post
David Ignatius writes, “Here’s one obvious fact: Israel can’t bomb its way to this new Iran. A campaign of bombing of the kind Tehran is experiencing makes people hunker down, turn inward and often fight harder. Strategic bombing didn’t break the will of the British, German or Japanese people during World War II. It hasn’t yet destroyed Hamas in Gaza, either, for that matter. […] Talking with Iran experts, I heard one consistent theme: The best way to rally Iranians is to help them build a wealthier, more advanced and integrated country.”
Israel’s Attacks Make an Iranian Bomb More Likely, Foreign Policy
Eric Brewer writes, “This conflict could well push Iran to rebuild its program in ways that are harder to monitor, then attempt to build a bomb, either now or in the future. With its proxy forces defanged by Israel, its conventional military capabilities degraded, and its adversaries closing in, Iran may see producing even a rudimentary bomb as the only option that it has left.”