The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a confidential report circulated to member states that Iran had grown its stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium to 408.6 kilograms from 274.8 kilograms in early February, an increase of around 50%. The Wall Street Journal viewed a copy of the report.
That means Iran has enough highly enriched uranium for roughly 10 nuclear weapons, based on IAEA measures of the minimum fissile material required, up from at least six at the time of the last report.
U.S. officials say it could take Iran less than two weeks to convert this highly enriched uranium into enough weapons-grade 90% fissile material for a nuclear weapon. //
anon-eruj
9 hours ago
They're not lying about peaceful use. You just have to understand what peace means to them. Once they kill all the jews and trigger Armageddon, the 12th imam will return and there will be world peace.
Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh
·
Follow
🚨 BREAKING: Trump just confirmed he told Israel to not attack Iran.
REPORTER: Did you warn PM Netanyahu against taking action against Iran?
TRUMP: "Well...yes, I did."
"I did. Yeah."
"I said, I don't think it's appropriate right now."
PRESIDENT OF PEACE.
1:15 PM · May 28, 2025. //
There have been indications, as recently as last week, that Israel may be planning an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran, multiple US officials familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN.
The history of Western nations making deals with Iran has not been a happy one.
There are as yet no details as to what's on offer, but we can assume there are both carrot and stick elements, and it's a safe bet that there won't be any late-night deliveries into Tehran of pallets loaded with American currency. //
"They are at the threshold of a nuclear weapon. If they decided to do so, they could do so very quickly. If they stockpile enough of that 60 percent enriched, they could very quickly turn it into 90 and weaponize it. That's the danger we face right now. That's the urgency here," he said.
Here's the thing, and I'm going to tell you: "Weaponizing" a nuclear device is generally used to mean putting it in an air-droppable bomb or making it fit on a missile. Iran doesn't have to do that, and Secretary Rubio, the president and the Pentagon certainly know this. All they have to do is assemble a device that goes "boom" when torched off, load it into an old tramp freighter with a skeleton suicide crew - these kinds of useful idiots are common enough in that part of the world - sail it into a darkened harbor some night and set it off. The target might be Haifa or Tel Aviv, or it might be New York. //
Whatever deal is struck, there is one thing we can rely on utterly, as long as Iran's current theocracy is in place: Whatever they agree to, they will lie about it. If they offer to stop enriching uranium, they will just try to move their enrichment facilities out of sight. If they agree to stop trying to produce a bomb, they will keep trying, but their efforts will be moved to some cave in the Alborz Mountains. Whatever they agree to, they will harbor no notions of actually keeping the agreement.
That's what they have done since 1979. That's what they always will do, as long as the mullahs are running Iran.
According to NCRI sources, the primary function of the Rainbow Site is the extraction of tritium – a radioactive isotope used to enhance nuclear weapons. Unlike uranium enrichment, tritium has virtually no peaceful or commercial applications, casting further doubt on Iran’s longstanding claims that its nuclear ambitions are solely for energy or civilian use. //
Tritium is used to boost fission bombs for a substantial increase in yield, and it is used as a primary fuel source in thermonuclear weapons, or hydrogen bombs. //
Allowing Iran to maintain plants for nuclear enrichment isn't a good idea. Iran is the very definition of a rogue state. If they make a promise, they will break it. If they sign an agreement, they will violate it. If they say they will cease nuclear weapons development, they will be lying. And if they develop a nuclear weapon, they are very likely to use it.
Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. //
anon-wwfm Cleophus
an hour ago
“tritium has virtually no peaceful or commercial applications”
It’s used to make exit signs and rifle and pistol sights and other things that need to light up without battery power. //
The Real John from Jersey anon-d2hb
6 hours ago
The only US production site for tritium is the DOE Savannah River Site in Aiken SC, just outside of Augusta GA.
I actually interviewed for a job there 35 years ago. I had to get a classified security clearance, and the FBI came to interview my parents and grandparents.
When I got there, there were multiple layers of security to go through, each guarded by serious looking gentlemen with machine guns.
My point is, plutonium is easy to get, compared to tritium. And if the mullahs are trying to make it, there is no civilian use.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz released documentation indicating that Hamas had asked Iran for $500 million to complete the destruction of Israel. This request was made before the October 7th, 2023, attacks Hamas launched into Israel. //
Iran is and has been for some time the leading state sponsor of Islamic terrorism. They are, as Defense Minister Katz puts it, the head of the snake. They have the destruction of Israel as a primary role, but here in the United States, we should always bear in mind that to Iran, Israel is the "Lesser Satan," whereas we, in America, are the "Greater Satan.". //
The request wasn't for a lump sum but rather for $20 million per month for two years, which would be spent on, as Hamas phrased in the document, "to achieve these great goals, through which we will change the face of the world."
“We are confident that by the end of these two years, or during them, God willing, we will uproot this monstrous entity, and we will end this dark period in the history of our nation,” the letter reads. //
Laocoön of Troy
5 hours ago edited
If this is true...and I have no doubt that it is...then Israel and the US need to set up reletively sophisticated measures to go after wealth amassed by the Hamas biggies. I don't pretend to know how to do that...but we have alot of pretty elite bankers who can sell freakin' ice to the Eskimos. Or sand to the Saudis. I have every confidence that we can run scam after scam to get our hands on at least part of their cash. Or encourage their comrades to get their slice of the pie...
Danny Costanzo: [unable to arrest Snake] This block is being designated a Neighborhood Watch Area. There's a guy up here named Snake. He's wearing garage-sale clothes and the top of his head looks like a parakeet. He also has FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS in small bills in a briefcase. As his neighbors, it is your responsibility to make sure there are no suspicious characters or evil perpetrators lurking in the area who would seek to do him harm. Again, FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS in small bills, tax free, in a briefcase right in this apartment. Which has a really cheeseball lock! You can bust your way in there, bop him on the head, take the money, nobody would know! So it's UP TO YOU. Thanks a lot, have a good day.
Running Scared (1986). //
anon-ymous99
5 hours ago
Likely $100 million for Sinwar, $100 million for Deif, $50 million among their commanders, and the rest for weapons. For the Gazans? Not a penny.
Level it, and build condos and resorts.
Send the Gazans to Somalia, Syria and who-cares-where-else.
NorCalGC anon-ymous99
4 hours ago edited
They’re already sending some to Indonesia as construction workers.
myx0mop NorCalGC
29 minutes ago
Not sure about construction. They're way more qualified as demolition workers.
Editor's note: Based on the X post below, Eli David apparently meant this as an April Fools' joke. David is generally a reliable source of news out of the Middle East, but the X post suggests it was a joke. We're not sure why someone would joke about something like this during a time of war, but we apologize for the error. //
Astonishing news out of Israel today and confirmed by at least one Israeli TV network that Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Gen. Esmail Qaani, commander of the crack Quds Force, is in Jerusalem after being identified as an Israeli intelligence asset.
Dr. Eli David @DrEliDavid
🚨 Breaking: Iran's 🇮🇷 IRGC Quds Force commander Gen. Esmail Qaani is confirmed safe in Israel 🇮🇱
It can now be revealed that he was an Israeli asset, providing intelligence that led to elimination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and Hezbollah leaders Nasrallah and Safieddine.
4:15 PM · Apr 1, 2025
The clock is ticking on Donald Trump's ultimatum to Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program, and an unusual bomber deployment just put teeth like a pit bull's into it.
Defense analyst and retired Israeli fighter pilot/special forces soldier (what a combo, right?) Naftali Hazony reported on X Monday that "At least six U.S. B-2 bombers are now stationed at Diego Garcia air base in the Indian Ocean."
This is kind of a big deal.
"The B-2 is the only aircraft that can deliver the massive GBU-57," Hazony continued, "one of the only bombs that can destroy Iran’s nuclear sites at Natanz and Fordow." The GBU-57 is a massive, 30,000-pound bunker-buster. Lacking heavy bombers, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) simply doesn't have a plane capable of delivering anything of that size and weight. //
In other words, six of maybe 12 flyable B-2s are ready to go at a moment's notice, just 2,000 miles from Iran. Typically, Spirits fly missions almost anywhere in the world from their home at Whitman in Missouri. Forward-deploying them at Diego Garcia gives them a much quicker turn-around time for a sustained bombing campaign.
The clock is ticking, and I don't just mean Trump's ultimatum that expires in the first week of May. While there's no smoking gun, the Gatestone Institute's Majid Rafizadeh has a detailed report this week on Russia and China's effort to make sure "Iran goes nuclear before end of Trump’s ultimatum" next month. "What remains overlooked is the significant role that China, North Korea, and Russia have been playing to make sure that Iran achieves nuclear weapons breakout before US President Donald J. Trump’s 'two-month ultimatum' runs out." //
anon-officer
a day ago
As an Artilleryman, the GBU-57 is near and dear to my heart sense it's made out of 8" howitzer barrels when that platform was decommissioned.
Nothing would put a smile on my face more than to show it off to the Mullah's in Iran, if you know what I mean.
anon-officer anon-pkys
a day ago edited
Yeah, you couldn't just throw a projectile up on the tray by hand with those baby's! I miss them. I got to command a 2 x 4 Paladin btry so that was highlight of my career.
I kind of got on a nostalgia kick and looked up some old videos:
My favorite Ft. Sill video featuring 8", 105's, MLRS, Paladin's, and block house Signal Mountain ha, ha. It's an oldie but a goodie. Wish someone would do it in high res:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBJNt76IMsA
Best video after 9/11. It's time the Houthis experience this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEbs_0WM2P8
.. and while searching for these, I came across an inspirational 1st term Trump video I thought was pretty good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2PNOokBh1Y
A new report now reveals that not only have top Iranian military leaders been providing support for the Houthis, but Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is personally involved.
anon-maty
an hour ago
Culturally, Russia and Russians are much more akin to Europeans than Asians. The royal families of all of old Europe were intermarried. Russians can arguably be said to have a penchant for strong rulers, sometimes to their detriment, see Stalin, Josef.
Putin is one as well. He and Russia may not be our friends. Yet. But they are not the enemy.
The enemy are the globalists. The EU. The UN. The WHO. The World Bank. Every central bank in the world.
These are the enemies of people everywhere.
Perpetual war.
Perpetual debt.
Perpetual suffering, poverty and death.
There are two teams. But they are not liberal (modern sense of the word) and conservative.
They are free and slave.
Think about who wants 15 minute cities. Think about who wants you disarmed.
Think about who wants your speech censored or prohibited altogether.
Think about who wants to erase family, God, country and tradition.
If you do you'll realize it isn't the big bad Russians. It's the financiers and governments dependent upon them, puppets on strings.
"I’ve left instructions," Trump said. "If they do it, they get obliterated. There won’t be anything left. And they shouldn’t be able to do it."
The comments came as the president signed an executive order restoring a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran, something he indicated he was "unhappy" to do because it was really tough on Iran but necessary since he believes they are "close" to building a nuclear weapon. //
President Trump's threat to obliterate Iran if they dare carry out threats on his life is reminiscent of a similar warning he issued to Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Baradar, now Afghanistan's acting first deputy prime minister, was involved in negotiations for the United States withdrawal with Trump during his first term. And he received a hell of a threat from the then-president, reminding him not to harm a single American.
“Under my conversations with Abdul, who’s the leader of the Taliban, for 18 months, we didn’t lose one soldier,” Trump bragged in an interview with Sean Hannity, adding that he told Baradar he’d “obliterate” him if he failed to follow orders in their negotiations to withdraw.
To drive home the point, Trump sent him a lovely picture.
"I sent him a picture of his house,” he revealed. “He said, ‘But why, but why do you send me a picture of my house?’ I said, ‘You have to figure that one out.'”
Damocles Gordon of Cartoon
9 hours ago
This from Wikipedia:
In 2016, the BBC published a report which stated that the administration of United States President Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) had extensive contact with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his entourage in the prelude to the Iranian Revolution of 1979.[1][2] The report was based on "newly declassified US diplomatic cables".[1][2] According to the report, as mentioned by The Guardian, Khomeini "went to great lengths to ensure the Americans would not jeopardise his plans to return to Iran - and even personally wrote to US officials" and assured them not to worry about their interests in Iran, particularly oil.[1][2] According to the report, in turn, Carter and his administration helped Khomeini and made sure that the Imperial Iranian army would not launch a military coup
There are a lot of people here in the USA that do not know that Carter Gave the Ayatollah Khomeini a crap ton of money (read: Millions) and allowed them to take over Iran. The thanks for using our tax money was a bunch of hostages held for over a year.
Look it up people! //
epaddon
9 hours ago
The context of giving away the Panama Canal stemmed from all the 1970s self-flagellation America went through in the wake of Vietnam. The idea of America a force of evil in the world, which gained ascendancy with opposition to the Vietnam War, combined with the rise of "revisionist" scholarship on the Cold War which blamed America, not Stalin for why the Cold War started, and all the trashing of America over getting rid of Marxist regimes in Guatemala and Chile is why Jimmy Carter felt that giving away the Canal would be a way of showing America making amends for all those things they never had to apologize for in the first place.
It didn't help that he not only got the backing RINO Senator Howard Baker, but also the backing of William F. Buckley. Indeed, there was a big "Firing Line" debate between Buckley and Reagan on the Canal and its telling that on Buckley's side was George Will, while Reagan's side had Pat Buchanan. George Will of course now stands exposed as Never-Trumper fake. //
Almost Sane
7 hours ago
Jimmy Carter was a virulent anti-Semite. He hated Israel and did his best to always side with their enemies, even after he was out of office. He was responsible for the ayatollah taking over Iran and responsible for our embassy being overrun and our diplomats taken hostage for over 440 days. Everybody praised him for his Habitat for Humanity project, but failed to read his antisemitic writings long after he was no longer president. //
anon-pabn
9 hours ago
This all may be Trump leveraging the canal to bring to light what China is trying to do with Taiwan. "Go after Taiwan and say goodbye to controlling the Panama Canal." Of course he would refuse to take military action off the board. He is playing 3 dimensional chess while the MSM is playing Candy Crush.
While it is much too early to tell what will happen in Syria, the initial signs are encouraging. Unlike nearly any other Arab civil war, reconciliation is given a priority over vengeance. An effort is being made to bring all parts of Syrian society together. While there is no doubt it will be a distinctly Islamic society, al-Julani seems to understand that Syria has enough religious and ethnic diversity that the "one size fits all" model we see in most of the Islamic world will not work. The Russians have abandoned their naval and airbase, removing the Kremlin's meddling in a delicate situation. //
In his Farewell Address, Washington left us with this warning.
In the execution of such a plan nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations and passionate attachments for others should be excluded, and that in place of them just and amicable feelings toward all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges toward another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. //
Lord Palmerston treats the same subject in a much pithier quote, “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”
I fear that many on the right have fallen into the trap of seeing American and Muslim relations through the lens of 9/11, and they are willing to see the change of government in Syria as the creation of yet another terrorist breeding ground. Indeed, on social media, some of the accounts most adamantly against US support for Ukraine and so-called "forever wars" by the "neocons" are also in favor of doing nothing to influence the outcome in Syria because of 9/11 and the 20 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan that they decry.
The initial moves of al-Julani seem to be focused on keeping much of the same multicultural tolerance of the Assad regime without, so far as we can see right now, the terror and repression. //
The fact is that when given the opportunity to break with al-Qaeda, he did. And he fought ISIS even when it got him nothing of value. //
In those early years of his post-presidency, the general agreement was that Carter meant well, and was just the poster child of the Peter Principle, having been promoted infinitely beyond his limited ability.
As the years went on, however, and as Carter continued his post-presidential activism, it became more and more difficult to make this argument.
During his presidency, the American people didn’t see a general worldview from Jimmy Carter. His support of nuclear weapons parity (favoring plans allowing Russia to build more while requiring the USA to reduce our stock), his support of giving away the Panama Canal that we built and paid for, his support of a new education bureaucracy at the federal level, and his capitulation to OPEC, are all just a few examples of the countless issues that may look like unrelated issues at first.
It is only with the advantage of hindsight that we see that, in fact, Jimmy Carter did have a coherent worldview: he worked constantly and intentionally toward increasing the general weakness of the United States of America and our allies.
Americans didn’t want to admit this, at the time. Many of us still don’t.
Americans are not a vindictive people; we were happy to see him out of the White House, and we preferred to give them the benefit of the doubt and just call him a dummy, for years and years.
But we can no longer deceive ourselves.
Between his writing, his speeches, and his endorsement of blatantly corrupt global elections, it has become undeniable that Carter long supported the prevailing Leftist theory, more commonly associated with Barack Obama today, that Americans and the West need to be brought down a few pegs.
Nowhere is this more evident than in his mishandling of the middle east.
As president, he convinced Israel to give a huge amount of land – the Sinai Peninsula – to Egypt, in return for nothing but a peace treaty. Israel has so little land, they could hardly spare so much; they should have demanded a solution to the problem of the arabs in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. But Carter talked them into giving up the Sinai for nothing, and now, here we are, 45 years later, and Israel still suffers from this problem.
Also as president, he refused to support our solid ally, Iran, when its Shah was sick, enabling the mullahs to take over the country and enslave what had been the happiest, most modern, most westernized country in the muslim world.
It is therefore undeniable today, with the advantage of hindsight, that Carter is responsible for most of the jihadist terrorism of the past 40 years. He supported the PLO over Israel, and he supported the mullahs over the Shah. //
This one-time Sunday school teacher became a supporter of abortion. This one-time Naval officer supervised the downgrading of our military preparedness and materiel. This one-time southern politician supported the massive expansion of federal bureaucracy. And this once-noble veteran supported the growth and empowerment of numerous foreign terrorist organizations, from the PLO on.
A daring Israeli commando raid deep into Bashar Assad's Syria in early September not only destroyed an Iranian factory producing missiles for Hezbollah to shoot into Israel, it may have been a test of a concept that puts all of Iran's nuclear facilities at risk.
On the night of September 8-9, a 120-man unit of elite Israeli Air Force Shaldag commandos in CH-53 attacked the underground factory in the Masyaf area of Syria, west of Hama, using a combination of landing and fast roping.
This is a video of US Marines fast roping from the same type of helicopter used in the Israeli operation. //
So why the big media rollout on a raid that happened three months ago? I think the first reason is to impress the locals with Israeli military capabilities. This media event, in addition to the happenings on the ground, goes a long way toward undoing any damage to the psychological dominance Israel has established over its enemies since 1948 by the October 7. 2023 massacre of Israeli civilians. The second reason is to send a message to the Iranians that you can't dig a facility deep enough to get away from the IDF if they want you.
The attack at Masyaf looked a lot like a rehearsal for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. In the aftermath of the rout of Assad's forces and the fall of the Ba'athist regime, Israel carried out a punishing campaign of air attacks on Syrian radar, fighter bases, and air defense sites. So much so that it is fair to say that Syria is incapable of knowing who is using its airspace, much less contesting that usage; see Israel Bombs Syria's Military Capability and Infrastructure Flat to Send a Message to Iran.
While Operation EAGLE CLAW, the attempted rescue of US hostages held by Iran in April 1980, was a humiliation of American arms, the same basic plan is imminently viable to take out Iran's nuclear weapons research and production facilities. The destruction of Syrian air defenses and early warning systems means a relatively large Israeli force could seize a foothold within helicopter range of the target area and, under the cover of airstrikes, penetrate Iranian nuclear facilities and destroy them.
And we can never ignore that third possible reason. Given the obvious inferences from the Masyaf raid, the Iranians may very well react by reinforcing their nuclear facilities and, in the process, reveal nuclear sites that were previously unknown.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan presented President Biden with options for a potential U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities if the Iranians move towards a nuclear weapon before Jan. 20, in a meeting several weeks ago that remained secret until now, three sources with knowledge of the issue tell Axios. //
Biden and his national security team discussed various options and scenarios during the meeting, which took place roughly one month ago, but the president did not make any final decision, according to the sources. ///
This is supposed to be a message to Iran but I don't think it will have the impact it might have if this discussion were to take place in 3 weeks.
Steve Guest @SteveGuest
·
.@ScottJenningsKY: “In the run up to the Persian Gulf War, [Jimmy Carter] wrote letters, to all of our allies, and to Arab States, asking them to abandon their cooperation and coalition with the USA.. if it’s not treasonous, it’s borderline treasonous.” 🔥
11:18 PM · Dec 30, 2024
JENNINGS: In the run-up to the Persian Gulf War, he wrote letters to all of our allies and to Arab states, asking them to abandon their cooperation and coalition with the United States of America. If it's not treasonous, it's borderline treasonous, and so I hear what you're saying about the humanitarianism, but when you're an ex-president, and you have served in that office, I think you have a duty to the United States and only to the United States, and when he did that and other instances, to me, it showed that he cared more about his own legacy than he did about the country, and I think that is wrong. //
Scott Jennings @ScottJenningsKY
·
My thoughts on Jimmy Carter’s legacy last night on @cnn: terrible president, soundly rejected by the American people. Even worse ex-president, whose meddling in US foreign policy & virulent anti-Israel/anti-Semitic views must not be forgotten. Undermined US interests repeatedly.
6:58 AM · Dec 31, 2024
https://x.com/ScottJenningsKY/status/1874062472384307315
Ricardo Dale
4 hours ago
Carter handed us the current terror state that is Iran. Then he called Israel an "apartheid state." He is only partially redeemed by the fact that Joe Biden was worse by a large margin...
The IDF conducted at least 500 airstrikes since Assad fled to Moscow, and his military melted away in the face of an Islamic rebel offensive. In less than a week, the Israeli strikes “had destroyed around 80% of Syria’s larger-scale firepower,” the Jerusalem Post reported Thursday. Israel now had virtual air superiority in Syria after “destroying over 90% of the identified strategic surface-to-air missiles,” the IDF declared Thursday. //
The Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah continues to violate President Joe Biden-backed ceasefire along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. The Israeli military targeted Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure along the northern border in retaliatory operations.
“The IAF struck a loaded and ready-to-use launcher aimed at Israel in violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military said Saturday.
People of Iran, as we see history unfold before our very eyes, I can only imagine what you’re feeling right now. Your oppressors spent over 30 billion supporting Assad in Syria. Today, after only 11 days of fighting, his regime collapsed into the dust. Your presence spent billions supporting Hamas and Gaza. Today their regime lies in ruins.
Your oppressors over $20 billion supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon. In a matter of weeks, most of Hezbollah’s leaders, its rockets, and thousands of its terrorists went up in smioke. The money your oppressors stole from you literally went up in smoke. You must be furious imagining the new roads, schools, hospitals, that could have been built with the tens of billions of dollars your dictators wasted backing terrorists who lose over and over and over again.
Do you know why Iran's oppressors keep losing? It's not only because they're incompetent and cruel -- they are. It's because they seek to conquer other nations, to impose a fundamentalist journey on the Middle East, on the entire world. The only thing Israel seeks is to defend our state, but in so doing we're defending civilization against barbarism. //
I want to make clear: Israel wants peace. We want peace with all those who truly want peace with us, and I have no doubt that you, the people of Iran, know this. I know that just as we want peace with you, you want peace with us, but you suffer under the rule of a regime that subjugates you and threatens us.
You know what this regime is truly terrified of? It's terrified of you. The people of Iran. And one day, I know that this will change.
One day Iran will be free.
That is the future of Iran, that is the future of peace. And I have no doubt that we will realize that future together a lot sooner than people think. I know and I believe we will transform the Middle East into a beacon of prosperity, progress and peace.
In addition to the airstrikes throughout the depths of Syria, Israel has also reoccupied the Syrian portion of the Golan Heights that it relinquished to UN supervision in 1974 (Netanyahu Abrogates 1974 Peace Deal With Syria and Orders IDF Into Buffer Zone). Possession of Mount Hermon, the highest location of Israel, Jordan, and Syria, increases the early warning Israel will have of missile and drone attacks. It also provides continuous surveillance of the routes used by Iran and Hezbollah to move weapons into Lebanon. This move opens a secure and unimpeded air corridor from Israel to Iran. In the past, Israeli aircraft had to avoid Syrian interceptors and surface-to-air missiles, while Syrian radar provided invaluable information to Iran.
The major accomplishment of these strikes is the disarmament of Syria, and any future regime will have to start from scratch. //
The demolition of Syria's military capability has bought Israel several years of enhanced security and makes any direct action by Iran a decidedly high-risk affair.
The Biden-Harris administration waived sanctions on Iran three days after the November election, providing Tehran access upward of $10 billion in once-frozen funds, according to a copy of the non-public order transmitted to Congress and reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined on November 8 that "it is in the national security interest of the United States" to waive mandatory economic sanctions that bar Iraq from transferring upward of $10 billion to Iran in electricity import payments. //
Though the first Trump administration did green-light the same waiver—causing tension with some congressional Republicans—it narrowly tailored the waiver to restrict Iranian access to the cash. The Biden State Department tweaked the waiver last year to allow Tehran to convert the funds from Iraqi dinars to euros, then hold those euros in bank accounts based in Oman. Access to a widely traded currency like the euro enables Iran to more easily spend the cash in international markets. Under the first Trump administration, Iran had to keep the cash in an escrow account in Baghdad, making it more difficult to access.