Iran – the war begins

Early this morning, the United States acted, at last, to avenge itself for the sack of its embassy in Iran. American Naval and Air Forces staged out of Israel and attacked the Islamic Republic of Iran. They moved after President Donald J. Trump laid an ultimatum on the mullahs – an ultimatum they rejected. Cue the handwringing, and the libertarian look-what-you’ve-dones and what-have-you-dones. Also, cue the snarling and gnashing of teeth by the antisemitic “woke Reich.” But even a cursory review of the history of the Islamic State will show that they had this coming. Herewith, therefore, the Case Against Iran.

Preparing for the attack against Iran

The week before Thursday, the United States laid a three-part ultimatum on Iran, relating to its nuclear weapons development program:

1. Cease all uranium-enrichment activity,
2. Surrender their existing enriched-uranium stockpile, and
3. Accept strict limits on the kind of advanced centrifuge one can use to enrich uranium.

If Iran wanted to build nuclear power plants, as they said they did, then they would have to accept dilution of their enriched-uranium stocks to reactor-grade level.

Trump gave them a ten-day deadline, that would have expired tomorrow (March 1). The Iran government rejected all three points.

Yesterday Ambassador Mike Huckabee sent home all “non-essential” diplomatic personnel under his management. This includes personnel at the United States Embassy (formerly a consulate) in Jerusalem, and the former embassy in Tel Aviv.

He also strongly urged every American tourist and expatriate to leave Israel at once, while commercial air service remained available. The ambassador cited “terrorism,” “civil unrest,” and – more ominously still – armed conflict.

Witnesses on some of those “last planes out” took and shared video of a breathtaking lot of American air hardware. These included B-2 Spirit bombers, B-52 bombers, and KC-135 air tankers, all parked at David Ben-Gurion Airport, ready to fly.

In addition, China, the U.S., and 13 other countries urged all its citizens to leave Iran.

His Majesty’s Kingdom withdrew their entire embassy staff.

The evacuations should have provided enough warning – a warning Iran did not heed.

The attack comes

The first indication of any attack came at about 4:20 p.m. UTC yesterday. Witnesses described an explosion near Teheran, and speculated that Iran’s air defenses were the target.

At 7:57 a.m. UTC this morning (2:57 a.m. EST), President Trump posted this video on the White House X and YouTube channels.

Journalist Laura Loomer confirmed, three and a half hours later, that this is a joint Israeli-American operation.

This means more than the U.S. Air Force staging out of David Ben-Gurion Airport, and USS Gerald R. Ford CVN-78 docking at an Israeli port. It refers to elements of the Israeli Defense and Air Forces playing their own active roles in the conflict.

Trump builds the case for war with Iran

Jim Hoft published this summary and transcript of the President’s eight-minute speech. Trump cited these specific provocations:

• The sacking of the U.S. Embassy in Teheran in 1979. Since then, the United States has never had direct diplomatic relations with that country.
• The Beirut Massacre in 1983. Lebanon’s Hizbollah (Party of God) carried that out. They have been a known proxy of Iran since their founding.
• A plethora of attacks by “iran-backed militias” against other American troops stationed throughout the Middle East. And last:
• Other attacks-by-proxy against American forces and commercial vessels in the region.

Trump mentioned Iran’s support of HAMAS (Harakah al-Muqāwamah al-Islāmiyyah, or Islamic Resistance Movement). They, of course, carried out the October 7 attack against Israel, during which they took several American citizens hostage. The atrocities HAMAS committed on that day merit the total annihilation of that force, to the last armed effective, regular or ir-. Israel, though antisemitic commentators have accused it of a “massacre,” has not carried its retaliation that far.

Trump announced the specific targets and objectives of this joint military operation:

• Destruction of all Iranian missiles and their missile I industry,
• Elimination of the Iranian navy,
• Breaking Iran’s capacity to support terrorist proxies, and
• Ensuring that Iran will never build or otherwise obtain a nuclear weapon.

Finally, Trump urged Iran’s civilian population to shelter in place during the strikes. But when the fighting ends, he urged:

When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations. For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight.

Now you have a president who is giving you what you want—so let’s see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force.

Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action.

Do not let it pass. May God bless the brave men and women of America’s Armed Forces. May God bless the United States of America. May God bless you all.

Continued course of the war

Almost from the beginning, the senior leadership in Iran were among the first targets. An airstrike has definitely leveled the official residence of the Supreme Leader. But: he might not have been in residence. The Jerusalem Post, quoting Reuters, said Ayatollah Ali Khameini fled Teheran to “a secure location.” Of course that report comes from official sources, which puts their credibility in question. Nevertheless, CNAV cannot confirm from reliable sources that Ali Khomeini is dead, as rumor now has it. Therefore, bearing in mind Mark Twain’s famous disclaimer, we are treating reports of Khomeini’s death as unverified rumor. Accordingly, we are taking such reports with a grain of salt.

Fox News reported this morning that:

Several senior figures critical to the Iranian regime have … been eliminated.

But who they are, is anyone’s guess. An official source told the Associated Press that Khomeini remains alive “as far as I know.”

Huh?

Iran has retaliated, not only against Israel, but also against:

• Bahrain (where a missile destroyed the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet),
• Qatar,
• The United Arab Emirates,
• Jordan, and
• Kuwait.

They have succeeded only in angering their Arab neighbors even more than they already were. Saudi Arabia sent a message of solidarity with the so-called Gulf States.

The Emirate of Qatar also condemned the strike on its territory.

This last is telling, considering the games Qatar played after the October 7 attack. Iran just literally bit at least one hand that had been feeding it.

The conflict spreads

The Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps boasts that they have blocked the Straits of Hormuz.

Obviously that can’t last, because Trump has already vowed to “eliminate” the Iranian Navy. Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Transportation has warned all ships to stay away.

The Foreign Minister of Iran is still alive, and vowing that his country will fight on. NBC News somehow got an interview with him:

He has also protested in writing to the SecGen of the UN and the current President of the Security Council.

Reaction

Several influencers, among them Benny Johnson, report that ordinary Iranians are dancing in the sreets in celebration. Some are waving a flag that once flew when the Shah reigned.

In that last segment, Johnson shared footage of Reza Pahlavi, current Head of the Shah’s Royal House, rallying followers.

Tucker Carlson has been strangely silent since the war broke out. His last post mentioning Iran came out three days ago.

This is Israel’s last chance to blow up Iran with America’s military, so naturally the neocons have reached peak hysteria. Clayton Morris on what happens if they get their wish.

But The Daily Mail shared an apparent interview with Carlson, in which he condemned Trump’s “disgusting and evil” acts.

Mark Levin reacted angrily and swiftly, promising more reaction to come.

I’ll deal with this deranged traitor, Tucker Carlson, more fully later. For now I’ll say he’s a disgusting Woke Reich lowlife. He trashes our country and president in the middle of a military campaign against an enemy that has murdered over 1000 Americans and maimed thousands more. This bum has pranced around the Middle East giving aid and comfort to our enemies. And today he’s stabbing the president in the back and smearing our nation. He lies and propagandizes, and spews his cancerous bigotry, antisemitism, and Cristian-trashing.  Even Qatar is condemning Iran. But not Carlson. He attacks his own country. You’ve every reason to despise him.

Reaction in Washington is mixed, with hawks and doves in Congress quarreling openly. Surprisingly, Sen. John Fetterman, Democrat from Pennsylvania, supports Trump in this action. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) has also spoken in favor. Thus far the most prominent dissenting voice is that of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) Regular readers of this space will remember his disturbing criticisms of Israel – and Jews generally – after October 7, 2023.

Analysis

First, does the United States have casus belli against Iran? Even before reaching that question, one can take confidence that the Iran regime deserves what it is getting. It has committed all four of the Rand Crimes that mark a regime as deserving of overthrow from without:

1. Execution without trial,
2. Detention without formal charge,
3. Forbidding or restricting emigration (that is, not letting people leave who want to leave), and
4. Censorship.

Just as the United States had the right to invade Nazi Germany, so she also has the right to invade Soviet Russia, or any other slave pen. Ayn Rand

To deny this is to deny the right of a private citizen to intervene physically against a criminal attacking an innocent victim right in front of him.

Beyond that, the casus belli for Israel against Iran is undeniable. Two words suffice: “October Seventh.”

The casus belli for the United States, Trump laid out in his speech. Only the time element weakens that case to any extent – why didn’t the United States punish Iran at once after getting its embassy hostages out?

Reporter to former embassy worker: Do you plan ever to return to Iran?

Worker’s answer: Only in a B-52.

Well, B-52s are taking part in this operation, along with B-2s, KC-135s, and F-22s.

Who can apologize for Islamic Iran?

The spectacle of Americans and other outsiders apologizing for the Iranian regime is the most surreal part of this affair. The Gulf States and other Arab countries know that Iran has always posed a threat to them. True, the heirs to the Kingdom of the Parthians, and before then the Persian Empire, embraced Islam. But their brand of Islam puts them as the Destined Dictators of the world, not the Arabs. Arabs have always known this. That’s probably why an Arab, or Arabs, assassinated the Eleventh (and last) Shia Imam. To this day, Shia Muslims wait for the Twelfth Imam – who fled into the mountains at the age of five – to return from the dead and lead the world in a cathartic journey to Shia order. And all the Ayatollahs were “Twelvers.”

Two kinds of motives emerge among apologists for Iran today. First, the libertarians, who foolishly believe in “no enemies but what you make,” recognize no such thing as casus belli. Even Ayn Rand recognized the need to help people in an emergency. That’s why she composed her list of Four Crimes Against One’s Own People that condemn a regime as deserving of invasion.

Antisemitism

Second, we have antisemites, including:

1. “Covenant Theologians,” and
2. Those who believe – mistakenly – that modern Jews are not Jews, but Khazars.

Legend has it that the leader of Khazaria invited a Christian priest (probably Orthodox), a rabbi, and an imam to “sell” their religions to his people. The Khazars chose the rabbi and all converted to Judaism. Then Khazaria disappeared from the map, and the next inhabitants of the land were Kievan Rus’ in modern Ukraine.

Tucker Carlson asserted to Ambassador Huckabee in a recent interview that modern Jews all descend from these Khazars.

Huckabee swiftly corrected him, citing definitive genealogical evidence showing that even the Ashkenazim (European Jews) have Middle Eastern roots. But apparently Carlson is unrepentant and defiant, even of Genesis 12:3:

I will bless them who bless thee, and anyone who curseth thee I will curse.

Perhaps the Iranian regime has today fallen victim to the Genesis 12:3 Curse.

Update

During preparation of this report, other posts surfaced on X claiming that IDF elements, sifting through the rubble of the Ayatollah’s palace, have recovered his remains.

Reuters confirmed receiving a rumor to that effect. So did Axios. However, CNAV sticks with its original grain-of-salt stance.