What's the "Hold-up" With Iran?

10 Menachem Av 5784 

Now that Tisha b'Av has passed, still with no response from Iran, it's looking more and more like Iran is not going to war with Israel, but with the United States.  I've said it before.  I think this is taking so long because Iran is preparing for much more than taking down Israel.  I believe they think that they will have to take down Uncle Sam - our perceived protector - first.  

(Aug.  8)   As Biden-Harris Admin Calls for De-Escalation, Iran Threatens To ‘Wipe Out’ American Military Bases Across the Middle East

(Aug. 12)  Iran planning to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia? US deeply concerned

US has voiced deep concern over reports that Iran is preparing to supply Russia with hundreds of ballistic missiles, marking a significant escalation if true. Reuters reported that Russian military personnel are being trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 missile system, with the imminent delivery of these weapons expected for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Iran Opens Another Front Against U.S.-Led West; Russia Set To Get Iranian Ballistic Missiles 

(Aug. 13)  U.S. Warns Of Harsh Response If Iran Transfers Missiles To Russia

The United States on Monday warned Iran of swift and severe consequences for arming Russia, saying it has seen accounts Tehran would provide Moscow with hundreds of ballistic missiles, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

“We are prepared to deliver a swift and severe response if Iran were to move forward with the transfer of ballistic missiles, which would, in our view, represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told a daily briefing.

Now that Tisha b'Av has passed over into Asarah b'Av, our work and our suffering is complete.  The Tenth is the day most of the burning and destruction took place at the hands of the nations.  Therefore, their punishment can begin from now.

We will still have to deal with Hezbollah and Hamas, but once Iran and the US get going, we will no longer be operating under US constraints.

In my dream of Iranian missiles overhead on the full moon, I saw the coastline of Israel from Ashkelon to Haifa.  And I heard the words "death comes from the sky."  It's possible that those missiles were aimed at American assets in the Mediterranean Sea and were only passing over Eretz Yisrael, best-case scenario. 

However, now that Tel Aviv didn't even let Tisha b'Av pass before once again forbidding separation of men and women and a place for public prayer in their environs, and recalling the initiating event of all that has come upon our people since the expulsion from Gush Katif on this day - nineteen years ago - and which we are still living through, it marks an auspicious day for the fall of the Erev Rav, too!!

US spokespersons are vociferously proclaiming at every opportunity that American might is being arrayed to protect Israel from Iran.  Don't believe that for a second!!

  US military bases in the Middle East | AFP

Like the Midrash says, they are not here in force for us, they are here for their own interests which, I might add, very much clash with our own!!

Following is an excerpt from a paper produced by The Washington Institute (April 17, 2024) entitled "Russian-Iranian Cooperation and Threats to U.S. Interests"...

...Iran-Russia cooperation existed before Moscow’s watershed 2015 decision to militarily coordinate with Tehran and intervene in Syria on behalf of the Assad regime. But it has now evolved from tactical cooperation to a full-fledged defense partnership. Those focused on the Middle East have long clung to the assumption that Russia is the dominant player in the bilateral relationship and therefore can be relied upon to influence and moderate Iran’s destabilizing actions, from its illicit nuclear weapons program to its proliferation of advanced weapons to nonstate actors. That assumption is no longer valid following Russia’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine and its increased reliance on Iran for weapons and other forms of support. In order to develop and execute a strategy that diminishes the threat of Russian-Iranian cooperation, those who seek to uphold and reinforce the current international order need to update their assumptions regarding the balance of leverage and influence in this relationship. It is also critical for policymakers to acknowledge that this partnership is not tactical, temporary, or opportunistic—it reflects a convergence between the two governments of worldview and deliberately planned actions to counter U.S. and partner efforts to isolate and punish the malign actions of both.

LET JUSTICE BE DONE!!