Special to WorldTribune.com
By John J. Metzler, June 19, 2025
Well, it seems to have started. Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear research and development sites have ushered in the new phase of the rolling Middle East conflicts which began when Teheran’s Hamas terrorist proxies invaded Israel on October 7, 2023 triggering a murderous pogrom against Jewish civilians, murdering 1,200 people and taking 254 hostages.
The long-dreaded Israel/Iran war is on and now seems to have a momentum of its own. Despite dedicated diplomatic efforts and determined military deterrence to contain the escalating crisis over Islamic Republic of Iran’s embryonic nuclear program, Israel wasn’t willing to risk misreading Iranian efforts in building a nuclear weapon in the near future.
First; Israeli jets carried out a punishing decapitation operation against the Iranian military. Over a few days airstrikes killed eight senior military commanders including generals with the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, (IRGC) the country’s primary military force. Among those killed included, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the IRGC since 2019; He was deeply involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program. Equally Maj. Gen. Mohammad Baqeri, chief-of-staff of the Iranian armed forces and the second-most powerful military figure after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s State Radio has conceded the loss of eight generals.
Teheran in the meantime has launched waves of drones and missiles at Israeli cities and towns. But Israel punches back harder.
‘In their reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons, Ali Khamenei and his incompetent and criminal thugs have dragged Iran into a war and put the Iranian people in harm’s way. They are responsible.’Second; The Israelis hammered at least six suspected nuclear sites including the key Natanz nuclear enrichment site in a move to quickly degrade Iran’s capacity build a bomb. The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that Iran already has 400 KG (about a thousand pounds) of Uranium enriched to 60 percent; pushing enrichment 90 percent, a relatively quick operation, would bring the Islamic Republic to a nuclear weapons capacity.
Third; The UN Security Council went into urgent session rather ironically on Friday the 13th; Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon passionately told delegates the mission was clear, “dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, eliminate the architects of its terror and aggression and neutralize the regime’s ability to follow through on its repeated public promise to destroy the State of Israel.” Amb. Danon emphasized that while Teheran was on the threshold of a bomb, “This was an act of national preservation… because we were left with no other option.”
Russia’s Amb. Vassily Nebenzia warned that Israel’s actions in the Middle East are “pushing the region to a large-scale nuclear catastrophe.” Beijing’s delegate stated, “China condemns Israel’s action” in violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security.
The American delegate, McCoy Pitt of the State Department’s Bureau of International Organizations stated succinctly:
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s regime has, since its founding, repeatedly called for the State of Israel’s eradication; launched unprovoked direct and proxy attacks on Israeli civilians; and spread terror, instability, and untold human suffering throughout the region… As President Trump has repeatedly said, this dangerous regime cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons.”
In light of a possibly spreading conflict, Pitt stressed, “Our absolute, foremost priority is the protection of U.S. citizens, personnel, and forces in the region.” He warned, “Let me be crystal clear: no government, proxy, or independent actor should target American citizens, American bases, or other American infrastructure in the region. The consequences for Iran would be dire.”
Teheran’s terrorist proxies from Hizbullah to Hamas and the Houthis, and deep-cover assets in Europe and the USA can trigger assassinations and mayhem.
When Teheran’s Mullahs realize they have again backed themselves into a dead-end of their own making, will they then reconsider President Trump’s offer to talk and “make a deal” before it’s too late?
Clearly foreign intervention isn’t the solution in Iran, an ancient land currently ruled by cruel leadership.
Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi (64), son of the late Shah now living in exile in the United States remains a key figure in the peaceful resistance for change in Iran.
During this current crisis he stated via X:
“In their reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons, Ali Khamenei and his incompetent and criminal thugs have dragged Iran into a war and put the Iranian people in harm’s way. They are responsible.”
Prince Reza added, “But the regime is weak and divided. It could fall.” He stresses, “Here is my message to my compatriots: Iran belongs to you, and reclaiming it is in your hands.”
As President Trump said, the violence should come to an end, and Iran should make a deal so that there is “no more death, no more destruction.”
These are grim and tense times. The President has decisively thrown down the gauntlet; Iran must not have a nuclear weapon.
John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of Divided Dynamism the Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China (2014). [See pre-2011 Archives]
For Iran’s Mullahs, ‘a dead-end of their own making’ added by Editor One on June 19, 2025
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