The Conservative Cave

Over 200 Dead as Israel, Iran Trade Strikes for 3rd Day

https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/israel-iran-200/2025/06/15/id/1215073/

Israel claimed to operate almost freely in the skies over Iran during a third day of airstrikes Sunday and killed more high-ranking security figures, while some Iranian missiles slipped through Israel's air defenses. Both sides threatened to launch more attacks.

In an indication of how far Israel was prepared to go amid fears of all-out war, a U.S. official told The Associated Press that President Donald Trump in recent days vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Iranian Health Ministry said late Sunday that 224 people have been killed since Israel's attack began Friday. Spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said on social media that 1,277 other people were hospitalized. He asserted that more than 90% of the casualties were civilians.

The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran's arsenal of ballistic missiles, said intelligence chief Gen. Mohammad Kazemi and two other generals were the latest killed, Iran's state TV reported Sunday night. Israel's attacks have killed several top generals and nuclear scientists.

Iran also said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. Israel's military warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signaling a further widening of the campaign. Iran's military, on state TV, warned Israelis to stay away from "occupied" areas.

I won't be mourning the civilian scientists, technicians, and workers who were striving to create nuclear weapons to threaten and/or shoot at Israel. I won't be mourning the civilian intelligence and Gestapo-grade national police people.

Israel Kills Iranian Intelligence Chief and Deputy; ‘Wide-Scale’ Strikes

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2025/06/15/israel-kills-iranian-intelligence-chief-and-deputy-wide-scale-strikes/

Israeli media sources and Iranian state media both confirmed late Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had succeeded in killing Iran’s intelligence chief and his deputy, a major blow to the regime.

The fact that Israel was able to locate and to eliminate the highest officials in Iran’s intelligence hierarchy suggests an unprecedented depth of intelligence penetration; the entire regime may be compromised.

The Times of Israel reported: “Iranian state media officially confirms that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence chief, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Kazemi and his deputy Hassan Mohaqiq were killed in an Israeli strike today.”

There were also reports that Israel had struck the headquarters of the Basij, the paramilitary force that has suppressed popular uprisings in the past, potentially opening the way for citizens to rise up again.

Since the Basij leaders and operatives are "civilians", that's a good riddance, especially for the ordinary Iranians-on-the-street they've been oppressing.

It's been a difficult almost 2 years for Israel.

Israel was invaded, with hundreds murdered and scores abducted in October 2023. Within in hours, if not minutes, LIEden & his minions were exerting extreme pressure on Israel not to deal with Hamas the way Hamas had earned.

Despite the difficulty of attacking Hamas, which was dug in deep within and under civilians and "schools" and "hospitals", Israel defied LIEden's pressure, and Hamas is now largely dismantled, flayed, and eviscerated. When LIEden left the WH, Trump told Israel to go at Hamas full force.

In the same time frame, Hezbollah reared their ugly semi-coordinated (with Hamas) heads, and after Israel destroyed many of their weapons and decapitated Hezbollah's leadership at the midriff, they are reeling and the government of Lebanon is, for now, telling Hezbollah what to and not do.

After their proxies got hit, Iran thought it wise to let fly at Israel with missiles that accomplished little. Israel responded by taking out part of Iran's SAM and AA capability along with part of Iran's missile stocks and production capacity. It was a forceful FAFO warning.

Iran had been freely supplying weapons, materiel, and leaders/advisors through Syria, with the cooperation of Assad's government. Israel's Operations Grim Beeper and Stalky-Talky cramped Iran's style, and the fall of Assad to rebel groups now too busy consolidating their power to get into conflict (for now) with Israel severed Iran's ties to their proxy in Lebanon.

How badly remains to be seen, but Iran's Houthi proxies got a fair amount of pounding from the US and from Israel, so they may be laying low for a while, and Iran's ability to sneak weapons in to Hamas has been reduced significantly, if not cut off.

All of the above is context for where we are. Iran's proxies have been defeated or suppressed in detail. Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis can't force Israel to divide its efforts. Syria isn't in a position to interfere with Israeli overflights, and after Iran having been semi-allied with Assad, probably is not inclined to help Iran. Iran's antiaircraft capabilities were diminished months ago, with its supplier, Russia, being unable to replenish (courtesy of Ukraine).

Then Israel taught Iran to hate Friday the 13th, some of the earliest lessons being the destruction of even more Iranian radars and SAMs. Between successful SEAD and the Iranian air force's collection of aging F-14s and F-4s being less than well maintained and being significantly less capable that what the Israelis are flying, Israel pretty much has total air supremacy. Israel can choose and attack at will whatever they consider important - nuclear facilities, military bases, military command & control, civilian leadership, naval and port facilities, oil refineries and production. If Israel chooses to hit the water and/or electricity supplies to Tehran, millions of people will suffer, very quickly.

Trump was humiliated and the American people were vindicated.

How do you know what Trump was feeling, and how are the American people vindicated?

M4 Shermans have gotten far less respect than they deserved. At the time they first hit the battlefield, El Alamein(?), they were much better than what Rommel had. Even later in the war, in Europe, they were still very good GP tanks, as most of their engagements were with infantry and fortified positions (i.e. their very good 75 mm HE shells).

But, yeah, used as designed, current Rev M1 Abrams is currently one of or the best MBT in the world. Its 4 decades of service also demonstrate that the original design allowed for significant upgrade capacity*.

* A contrast with contemporary Russian MBTs which, while upgraded, have in approximately the same time gone from the T-80 to the T-90 to, supposedly, the T-14 Armata. The T-14 has not shown up in Ukraine, despite the very substantial degradation of Russia's tank force, so it may be somewhere between unanticipated heavy-duty debugging and vaporware prototypeville.

...“This is what we don’t understand. We think these moments will cause outrage, but they miss the point. It’s not swaying anyone. It just makes us look petty.”

Be honest, Dim'Rats. Does THE INCIDENT make you look petty, or does your pettiness make you "look" petty?