Israel’s retaliatory attack on Iran on Saturday morning marked the start of a new and more dangerous phase in the two countries’ yearslong conflict, but it appeared, at least for now, to have stopped short of prompting an all-out war, analysts said. The attack was the first time that Israel …
Read More »Why Did Israel Attack Iran?
Israel carried out a series of airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, the Israeli military said. The strikes seen and heard by residents in the capital, Tehran, came weeks after Iran fired waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, forcing millions of Israelis to take cover in bomb shelters. Iran said its …
Read More »Israel Struck Air Defenses Around Critical Iranian Energy Sites, Officials Say
Israel’s attacks on Iran early Saturday destroyed air-defense systems set up to protect several critical oil and petrochemical refineries, as well as systems guarding a large gas field and a major port in southern Iran, according to three Iranian officials and three senior Israeli defense officials. The sites targeted by …
Read More »Israeli Attack Puts Iranians on Edge: ‘The Vibe Is Not Normal’
Iranians voiced a sense of anxiety and uncertainty on Saturday after a round of retaliatory strikes by Israel on their country, but some said they felt a dim hope about what may lie ahead. “Today at work, everyone was speaking of the attacks,” said Soheil, a 37-year-old engineer who lives …
Read More »Opinion | The Dilemma Iran’s Leader Faces
If a person is fortunate enough to live into his ninth decade, life often turns toward quiet reflection, relaxation and the comforts of family and community. Not for the 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The sunset years of Iran’s supreme leader have been defined by a series of daunting challenges: regional …
Read More »Fighting Rages in Gaza and Lebanon, Despite Killing of Hamas Leader
Israeli forces pounded targets in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya on Saturday, killing at least 33 people and injuring dozens of others in the bombardment, a Palestinian emergency services group said. Israel has surrounded Jabaliya for a week as it seeks to root out Hamas fighters who it says …
Read More »Leaked U.S. Intelligence Suggests Israel Is Preparing to Strike Iran
The leak of a pair of highly classified U.S. intelligence documents describing recent satellite images of Israeli military preparations for a potential strike on Iran offers a window into the intense American concerns about Israel’s plans. It also has U.S. officials working to understand the size of the improper disclosure. …
Read More »Despite Sinwar’s Death, Mideast Peace May Still Be Elusive
The killing of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader whose decision to attack Israel more than a year ago set off the ever-widening war tearing up the Middle East, could be the key to ending the bloodshed. Now that Israel has decapitated Hamas in Gaza, the thinking goes, it might be …
Read More »Sinwar’s Death Highlights Israel’s Long Quest for Deterrence
A quarter-century before Israel was founded, the Zionist leader Zeev Jabotinsky articulated an idea that has come to define the way Israelis protect their country. A Jewish state, he wrote in 1923, would succeed only by projecting enough strength to force its enemies to accept it as a permanent reality. …
Read More »What is the THAAD Antimissile System the U.S. Is Giving to Israel?
The advanced THAAD air defense system that the United States is sending to Israel is a sign of how both countries are bracing for more attacks against Israel by Iran and its allies. It adds another layer of protection to the several types of air defense systems that Israel already …
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