As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
The only source in this is Axios which seems CIA and Mosaad plugged in that the state of Tel Aviv has engaged in a series of operations, both terrorist, assassination and military against the Persian state. The operation will take several days and the United States is not involved in this according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Information states that Iran is counter launching it's first attack, as this is taking time, it must therefore be drones.
This is what Axios is reporting in the assassination of top Iranian government officials.
Israel launched a massive wave of attacks across Iran on Thursday night, bombing nuclear and missile sites, targeting military leaders and nuclear scientists, and conducting covert sabotage operations on missile and air defense sites.
Why it matters: Israel is directly attacking its biggest and best-armed adversary without backing from the U.S., which swiftly distanced itself from the operation.
- President Trump publicly opposed an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites on Thursday, saying he still believed a nuclear deal was possible.
- Hours later, Israel began targeting nuclear sites as well the Iranian military's top brass and senior scientists working on the nuclear program.
- Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. commander Gen. Hossein Salami was among those killed, Iranian state media confirmed. State media also confirmed the deaths of two top nuclear scientists and another senior general.
What they're saying: "Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
- "Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense," he continued.
- "President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel."
Driving the news: Sirens sounded across Israel on Thursday night. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a special state of emergency across the entire country.
- "Following the State of Israel's preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the state of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future," Katz said.
The big picture: The Israeli strikes have launched a new military conflict that poses grave danger to both Israel and Iran.
- An IDF official told reporters the operation to destroy Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities will take several days, and Israel expects Iran to retaliate with missile and drone attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign would continue "as long as it takes."
- The IDF official claimed that in recent weeks, Israel had indications that Iran was racing for a nuclear bomb — and that with every day that passed, Israel would have less visibility into Iran's advancements. "We are now in a strategic window of opportunity and close to a point of no return, and we had no choice but to take action," the official said.
- Iran denies that it is pursuing a nuclear weapon, and the U.S. and other allies have made no such warning about Iran racing toward a bomb.
Behind the scenes: The U.S. notified several of its allies in private on Thursday that Israeli strikes were imminent and made clear it was not involved, a source familiar with those discussions said.
- The Trump administration told Israel it would not participate in any strikes on the nuclear program, Axios reported.
- However, the U.S. has previously helped defend Israel from Iranian attacks and is likely do so again.
- Before the operation became public, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee tweeted that he was at the embassy in Jerusalem and "will remain here all night," adding: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
State of play: The Israeli operation is very broad in scale, with both nuclear and missile sites and high-ranking Iranians targeted.
- Netanyahu said planning had been underway for months to simultaneously strike Iran's nuclear and missile programs. He claimed Iran had taken unprecedented steps in its nuclear program and was rapidly producing a massive stockpile of ballistic missiles, both of which Israel was seeking to "eliminate."
- An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said only "necessary" activities should take place in Israel starting Friday morning local time. That includes a ban on "educational activities, gatherings and workplaces, with the exception of essential businesses."
- Israel closed its airspace, and Iran also suspended flights out of Tehran's international airport. Israel's political leaders were moved to a secure location.
Friction point: Israel has been preparing and drilling for weeks, but had previously told the U.S. it would wait to see what happened with Trump's nuclear talks.
- In his statement, Netanyahu thanked Trump for his years of support for Israel and opposition to Iran's nuclear program. But he did not have public support from Trump for this attack.
- A sixth round of U.S.-Iran talks had been scheduled for Sunday, but Israel has likely now wiped out any prospect of a deal.
- Trump has a National Security Council meeting in the Situation Room on his schedule for tomorrow at 11am.
What to watch: Iran has vowed to strike U.S. targets in the region in the event of any attack on its nuclear program.
- The U.S. is in the process of withdrawing diplomats and military families in Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait who could be in harm's way.
- The U.S. has also boosted air defenses around several of its sources in the Gulf.
Other sources from CNN, Reuters and the Guardian are now confirming these attacks took place. Tel Aviv is desperately trying to keep the United States out of the retaliation from Iran.
Iranian defenses apparently could not stop the American F 35's or 15's.
“Dozens of [Israeli air force] jets completed the first stage that included strikes on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran,” the statement added.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US was not involved in the strikes. “Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence.
“President Trump and the administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel.”
More information coming in.
The targets of the Israeli strike include nuclear facilities, air defense batteries, homes and headquarters of senior officials, weapons depots and laboratories. The first wave of the assault focused on senior officials. According to two defense officials familiar with the initial assessments of the Israeli attacks in Iran, there is increasing likelihood that Israel succeeded in killing Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, along with several senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and leading scientists involved in the country’s nuclear program.
Iran’s state media report two prominent nuclear scientists Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi were killed when Israel attacked their homes in targeted assassinations. Israel has assassinated several Iranian nuclear scientists in covert operations.
The commander in chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Hossein Salami has been killed in the Israeli strikes, Iranian state television reports. The deputy commander of Iran’s armed forces, Gen. Gholamali Rashid, and Fereydoun Abbasi, a nuclear scientist, have also been killed, it adds.
The Jewish military is reporting the attacks in this operation will take days. They are reporting that Iranian responses will be different than in the past, and that only successes will not be a probability.
The Lame Cherry assesses not so much a regional war, but instead a confederated attack upon the state of Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv has unleashed mass assassination. This will be murderous response from the Tehran allies.
Mehdi Rahmati, a conservative political analyst in Tehran, said, “There is now a real chance of a regional war,” he said. “Our allies are still capable. Hezbollah has missile and drone capacities and the Houthis are very capable.” He also numbered an Iraqi miltiia among Iran’s allies.
Nuff Said
agtG
