Fordow, one of the Iranian nuclear enrichment sites targeted by U.S. bombers<\/p>\n
On Friday June 13 Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran\u2019s military command, its nuclear scientists, its air defences and many of its nuclear sites.<\/p>\n
The objective was to take out the Iranian high command and the Iranian Republic\u2019s ability to mount a coordinated defence.<\/p>\n
Although many of the Israeli strikes did indeed hit home, taking out much of Iran\u2019s high command and key nuclear scientists, as well as disabling some of the country\u2019s air defences, the Israeli campaign wasn\u2019t entirely successful.<\/p>\n
The fact that Israel subsequently warned its citizens to prepare for a long war<\/a> means that the IDF failed to achieve the initial objectives in its strike.<\/p>\n Although some Israelis may have thought that they had the initiative, that illusion was quickly dispelled by successive waves of retaliatory Iranian missile strikes.<\/p>\n For after being caught off-guard on June 13, Iran quickly recovered, putting Israel on the defensive with successive waves of missiles and drones. To make matters worse for Israel, Iran not only quickly re-established its military command structure but the Israeli strike also sparked a resurgent sense of Iranian national unity<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perhaps even more disturbing for the Israeli military are claims that Iran shot down 4 Israel F-35s<\/a>. This cannot be confirmed but if true it means that Israel has lost its prized air superiority.<\/p>\n Iran is not like Egypt in the 1967 war. Then the Israeli Defence Force quickly seized the initiative and took control of the battlefields and the skies, by destroying the much of the Egyptian Air Force while it was still on the ground..<\/p>\n Things are very different for Israel now.<\/p>\n Iran was in the process of wresting back the initiative that Israel had momentarily seized on June 13. That is why little more than a week later Israeli military chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, warned<\/a> of \u201cdifficult days\u201d ahead and a \u201cprolonged war\u201d.<\/p>\n The days of quick Israeli victories are over, as witness the meat grinder that Gaza has become after 18 months of fighting.<\/p>\n So if the Israelis can\u2019t beat a lightly armed militia in a tiny enclave that they totally surround, how are they going to handle a nation of 90 million, that is sophisticated, committed and backed by Russia and China?<\/p>\n The answer is they can\u2019t, at least not by themselves.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Trump\u2019s intervention late on Saturday, early Sunday is so critical. Without U.S. support and aid Israel would be on the way to defeat.<\/p>\n Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that Israel\u2019s continued existence is entirely dependent on President Trump.<\/p>\n It is also dangerous to write Iran off when we don\u2019t have the full details of the U.S. strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities, announced by Trump. Or the extent of the damage wrought by the U.S. bombings.<\/p>\n