J Street and Members of the Progressive Israel Network Statement Following US Attack on Iran, J Street
“J Street, NJN, and T’ruah fear that the Trump Administration’s unauthorized attack on Iran on Saturday risks a dangerous escalation into a new, broader Middle East war of choice. We hope that this war can be swiftly brought to an end.”
Now What?, Substack
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, “In the best case scenario, military action stops here. But we’ll soon see that the Iranian program won’t have been ‘permanently eliminated.’ In fact, the regime will have increased incentive to get right back to work, this time with determination to produce a weapon, far away from public view and international oversight.”
America’s War With Iran, Foreign Affairs
J Street Chief Policy Officer and Senior Vice President Ilan Goldenberg writes, “The American attack could indeed lead to Iranian capitulation on terms friendly to Israel and the United States. But it is equally or even more likely to draw the United States deeper into the war with profoundly negative consequences. Iran will almost certainly seek some manner of retribution, perhaps by attacking nearby U.S. bases and potentially killing U.S. soldiers. That could lead to ever widening escalation.”
US Strikes Iran [Podcast], Up First
“I spoke to Ilan Goldenberg — he’s from the advocacy group J Street, and during the Obama administration, he was the man at the Pentagon in charge of following Israel-Iran tensions. He believes the most likely scenario now is Iranian retaliation against U.S. military bases; an aggrieved Iran regime that could take greater risks in its strikes, which could lead to a perpetual, low-grade air war between Iran and Israel for months — or, on the other hand, it could be a turning point if Iran does agree to restrain its nuclear program. But it really is a roll of the dice.”
US Inserts Itself Into Israel’s War With Iran, Striking 3 Iranian Nuclear Sites, AP
“The United States struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel’s war aimed at destroying the country’s nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe despite fears of a wider regional conflict. Addressing the nation from the White House, President Donald Trump asserted that Iran’s key nuclear were “completely and fully obliterated.” There was no independent damage assessment.”
Israel Strikes Tehran and Fordo Site, as Russia Backs Iran in Deepening Conflict, NPR
“Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across Tehran early Monday, hitting what it called ‘regime targets and government repression bodies’ in the heart of the Iranian capital, including Evin Prison, notorious for jailing political opponents. The military also said it struck the Fordo nuclear facility, already damaged by U.S. strikes over the weekend, to obstruct access routes to the site.”
Trump Says ‘Regime Change’ May Be Necessary to ‘Make Iran Great Again’, Time
“‘It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’’ President Donald Trump posted Sunday on Truth Social, a day after the U.S. bombed Iran, raising questions of the ultimate end-goal of American military involvement in the Middle East. ‘But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???’”
Day After Day, Palestinians in Gaza Risk Harrowing Journey in Desperate Search for Food, NPR
“‘This isn’t aid. It’s humiliation. It’s death,’ said Jamil Atili, his face shining with sweat as he made his way back last week from a food center run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed private contractor. He had suffered a knife cut across his cheek amid the scramble for food and said a contractor guard pepper-sprayed him in the face. Still, he emerged with nothing for his 13 family members.”
Israel Recovers Bodies of Three Hostages From Gaza, BBC
“The bodies of three Israeli hostages have been recovered from the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. He confirmed that Yonatan Samrano, Ofra Kedar and Staff Sgt Shai Levinson’s remains were retrieved on Saturday in a military operation.”
Sheltering in a Bunker, Iran’s Supreme Leader Prepares for the Worst, The New York Times
“Ayatollah Khamenei, 86, is aware that either Israel or the United States could try to assassinate him, an end he would view as martyrdom, the officials said. Given the possibility, the ayatollah has made the unusual decision to instruct his nation’s Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for appointing the supreme leader, to choose his successor swiftly from the three names he has provided.”
As U.S. Enters Israel’s War Against Iran, the Region Fears What’s Next, The New York Times
“‘We are constantly afraid, and the psychological toll has been heavy,’ said Rawan Muhaidat, 28, a mother of two in the town of Kafr Asad in northern Jordan. The sight of Iranian missiles overhead, and the booms of air defenses shooting them down before they reach Israel, have terrified her children, who cower between her and her husband as they worry that their home could be struck.”
Real Success for Trump in Iran Will Require De-escalation, The Financial Times
Philip Gordon writes, “Iran may also opt for the opposite strategy of deliberately killing Americans and drawing the US further in, hoping that the American appetite for another costly war in the Middle East is limited, and that Trump’s Maga base will rise up in opposition if the price in blood and treasure starts to rise. Trump himself has a huge interest in avoiding the latter scenario and can help to do so by sending the right signals to Tehran.”
War or Peace? The Choice Is Always Ours to Make, Vatican News
Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah write, “We are a Palestinian and an Israeli peacemaker who have buried family members because of war and violence. We know its cost. We know its unbearable weight. We know the silence of mourning, the pain of absence, and the devastation that violence leaves behind. This is why we raise our voices today: to plead for peace and to say, unequivocally, that these wars must end.”
Why Do Israelis Overwhelmingly Back War With Iran but Want to End the War in Gaza?, Haaretz
Dahlia Scheindlin writes, “It seems clear that it was the successful military and intelligence operations in Lebanon and Iran that helped stabilize the government’s polls – not the festering, failed wound of Gaza, where morale and reserve response rates declined over the summer and where hostages were being executed.”