Israel should attack Iran again and end its nuclear program for good

Last weekend, the Jewish state delivered a masterclass in how to call an enemy’s bluff and seriously disable it with strategic precision.

Over the course of just a few hours, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) reportedly managed to destroy much of the air defense system that Iran has built up over the past two decades, while simultaneously destroying the ayatollahs’ missile production capabilities.

The attack, which took place in response to the barrage of ballistic missiles fired by Iran against Israel on October 1 is nothing short of a momentous development, one that will potentially change the entire calculus of the Iran-Israel conflict.

But no matter how successful the attack was, it would be a grave mistake if Israel stopped now.

Rather than serving as a finale, Israel’s bold attack should be a prelude to eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat once and for all.

Scenes in Iran after a series of Israeli retaliatory attacks on October 26. (credit: SCREENSHOT UNDER 27A OF COPYRIGHT ACT)

End Iran’s nuclear threat forever

One of the most striking outcomes of Israel’s blitz was that Iran’s military, governmental, and economic infrastructure was completely exposed. Or as former White House National Security Council member Richard Goldberg told the Washington Free Beacon website on October 27: “We have to understand that Tehran is now naked; the ayatollah has no clothes.”

A former senior Mossad official, Oded Eilam, supported this view. In an interview with Erel Segal on Radio 103FM, Eilam said: “Iran is in the most difficult situation since August 1988, when the Iran-Iraq war ended, and it is absolutely vulnerable.” He also pointed out that Iran does not have the equivalent of Israel’s Arrow missile defense system, nor has it built bomb shelters for its people.

The centerpiece of Iran’s air defense was the S-300, a Russian-made surface-to-air missile (SAM) system that can down planes and drones. According to The Wall Street JournalIran had four S-300 systems, all of which had been destroyed by the IAF.

The attack highlighted both Israel’s military prowess and Iran’s defensive weakness.

Consider that this was anything but a surprise attack.

Stay up to date with the latest news!

Subscribe to the Jerusalem Post newsletter

A leak of classified US intelligence information about the preparations for the attack made that clear, and there were even media reports late last week that Israel may have tipped off the timing.

So even though the Iranians knew the attack was coming, they still proved completely unable to thwart it.

That alone sent a clear and unequivocal message that Israel has the ability to hit Iran when it wants and where it wants.

To accomplish this feat, Israel had to send more than 100 planes to cover 1,000 miles. They had to cross enemy territory in Syria and Iraq, carry out mid-air refueling and coordinated attacks on various locations in Iran, a country comparable in size to Texas.

That is no small achievement, especially when you consider that Israel has not lost a single plane or pilot in the process.

Earlier this year, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in Washington said in its annual threat assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community: “Iran’s missile, UAV, air defense and naval capabilities will continue to threaten U.S. and partner commercial and military assets. in the Middle East.”

While most of that sentence remains true, the part about “air defense‘ must now be cut away.

In that respect, Israel has done an enormous service to the entire Middle East, but also to the Western world.

As Goldberg noted, “Israel has fundamentally changed the battlefield in a positive way for the United States and close allies, and not just for itself.”

Simply put, by depriving Iran of its ability to defend its own territory and vital infrastructure against air attacks, the IAF has now made it significantly easier for Israel and the US to take military action against the ayatollahs’ nuclear program.

And that is exactly what needs to happen next.

With their military and nuclear sites vulnerable, Iran’s leaders may well decide to accelerate their efforts to build the bomb while they still can.

This is a risk that neither Israel nor America can take.

To be sure, an outright attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would still pose significant risks.

A recent document released by the Council on Foreign Relations concluded that “Iran has varied capabilities, including deep and diverse arsenals of cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones. US intelligence analysts say Iran has the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the Middle East.”

This also includes long-range missiles that can strike targets up to 2,000 kilometers away, including parts of Europe.

But with opposition to Tehran’s tyrants growing at home and air routes to the targets now cleared, this is a historic opportunity to put a stop to the mullahs’ nuclear program for good.

For the sake of Israel and future generations, we cannot let it pass us by

The writer was deputy director of communications under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.