"The Israeli strike on Iran is long overdue. No other nation would have been as patient as Israel has been. The media is dead wrong when they are reporting an unprovoked attack. Iran has been attacking Israel through its proxies – Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, Iranian militias, etcetera – for years. Israel once again is doing the dirty work that Europe refuses to do." Gary Bauer, director emeritus 
"There's no loss of appetite on the part of the Iranians to kill Americans and attack our facilities …. I don't think Iran wants to expand this to include the United States, and the Israelis have already made it clear that this is just the first strike of multiple strikes …. [But] if they indeed strike Americans, President Trump has made it clear that they'll feel the full might of the United States." Col. (USA-Ret.) Robert Maginnis |
The Israeli military said military jets hit a site where Revolutionary Guard officials had “assembled in an underground command center,” allegedly “to prepare for an attack on the state of Israel,” and killed Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh along with two other senior officials.
“Hajizadeh publicly declared his commitment to Israel’s destruction at various events in recent years and played a central role in developing the Iranian regime’s plan for Israel’s destruction,” the Israelis said.
In its first response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through.
In an interview with ABC News, U.S. President Donald Trump called the Israeli strikes on Iran “excellent” and previewed more attacks.
“I think it’s been excellent. We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it,” Trump told ABC on Friday morning. “They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come, a lot more.”
In a further post on the Truth Social platform, Trump added: “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’”
“They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!” he wrote Friday.
Meanwhile, two U.S. officials said Friday that the Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to begin sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward, so it can be available if requested by the White House.
The Hudner is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that is capable of defending against ballistic missiles.
On Oct. 1, 2024, U.S. Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.
