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Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
SHAPIRO: Israel's stunning victory over Iran and two big lies debunked
This handout satellite image released by Maxar Technologies on June 19, 2025 and taken on June 19, 2025, shows damage at the Iranian nuclear facility at Arak in central Iran, after an Israeli strike. Photo by Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP via Getty Images This week, Israel finally unleashed its firepower against Iran's nuclear program in a devastating feat of intelligence work, technological competence and war planning. The Israelis not only caught the Iranian regime flatfooted, but they devastated Iran's war-making capacity, degrading Iran's missile launchers by half, its nuclear program by up to 90% and its top military layer almost entirely. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account All of this was the result of years of meticulous planning. For decades, Iran built up a bevvy of terror proxies from Iraq through Syria and Lebanon, into the Gaza Strip and the so-called West Bank, and down to Yemen. It radically increased its ballistic missile capacity. Iran's proxies killed hundreds of Americans across the region, attempted to destabilize regimes ranging from Saudi Arabia to Jordan and provided the muscle for Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran threatened Israel's destruction daily and cursed America, all while building nuclear weapons. Just last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that Iran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations. According to Israeli intelligence, the Iranians were on the verge of achieving a nuclear breakout that would outpace Israel's ability to hamper the program. With Iran's air defences gone after battling Israel last year, the window for action was closing. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. So, Israel acted. Having spent nearly two years decapitating Iran's proxies one by one, Israel quickly established an air corridor from Israel to Tehran, using both Mossad agents on the ground and Israeli Air Force assets from the air to thoroughly wreck the Iranian regime's military and nuclear capacity. All of which is an unfettered good for the West. A nuclear Iran, as President Donald Trump has said for decades, is a threat not just to Israel but to the West. A nuclear-armed Iran could easily take control of vital waterways ranging from the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz. It could threaten American allies ranging from Israel to the United Arab Emirates to Jordan to Saudi Arabia while pursuing destabilizing terror uprisings and could even use a nuclear umbrella, with improved intercontinental ballistic missiles, to threaten Europe or the United States directly if it sought to do so. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The first rule of a rational foreign policy is to take geopolitical enemies seriously when they openly threaten your destruction every single day. Israel took that threat seriously and acted. And the world is better off. Yet, some on the American political right seem disturbed by Israel's success. Some worry, inaccurately but understandably, that America might be drawn into a broader nation-building operation in Iran — something Trump certainly will not do and that Israel has not requested. Even if Trump were to authorize a series of strikes on the Iranian underground nuclear facility at Fordow, that would not amount to an Iraq-like nation-building operation; it would far more clearly resemble Trump's heroic vapourization of Iranian terror-master Qassem Soleimani in 2020. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Others bizarrely seem to see Israel as the fountainhead of evil in the world — a perverse moral perspective that turns reality on its head in favour of conspiratorial fantasy. Some of these people hide behind a pseudo-realism that pretends to see an Iranian nuclear capacity as less of a regional threat than strikes on the Iranian nuclear capacity, warning of a Third World War, a nuclear holocaust that will somehow emerge from Israel preventing a nuclear Iran. Whatever the purported justification for inaction, Israel — and Trump's open support for Israel's operation — has proven such doubters wrong. It turns out that the best way to end the threat of a nuclear Iran is to end the threat of a nuclear Iran. It turns out that peace through strength requires actual strength to achieve peace, and that peace through isolationist weakness ends not in peace but in regional conflagration, ongoing for decades. With the destruction of the Iranian nuclear program, two lies die: The lie that only negotiations can end the threat of a rogue state seeking nuclear weapons and the lie that every conflict must necessarily become Iraq. Both of those lies deserved to die grim deaths. And, like the Iranian nuclear program, both have been obliterated in this show of Western muscle against the radical Iranian regime. Read More World Toronto & GTA Columnists MMA World
Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Insider
Satellite image of an Iranian airport shows an American-made F-14 Tomcat that Israel turned into a burned wreck
The Israeli military said it bombed two Iranian F-14 Tomcats in Tehran earlier this week. A new satellite image shows that one of the fighter jets is destroyed while the other looks damaged. The US sold dozens of F-14s to Iran in the 1970s when the two countries still had ties. New satellite imagery of an Iranian airfield shows two US-made F-14 fighter jets — one of which looks to be totally destroyed — after they were hit by Israeli airstrikes earlier in the week. The image, captured on Friday by US commercial satellite imaging company Maxar Technologies and obtained by Business Insider, shows the two F-14s at a facility at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran. One of the F-14s appears to have taken a hit near the nose, although the full extent of the damage is unclear. However, the other jet directly next to it was reduced to a burned wreck. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said on Monday that an IDF drone struck two Iranian F-14s, marking "another loss of strategic weaponry for the enemy." The military published footage showing a direct hit on each aircraft. RECAP of Our Recent Operations Over Tehran: 🛫 Strike on two F-14 fighter jets that were located at an airport in Tehran. These jets were intended to intercept Israeli aircraft. ❌ Thwarted a UAV launch attempt toward Israel. 🎯 Eliminated a launch cell minutes before launch… — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 16, 2025 The F-14 Tomcat is a multi-role fighter jet made by the US aerospace corporation formerly known as Grumman Aerospace Corporation, now Northrop Grumman. Designed to be launched from aircraft carriers, the plane was introduced by the US Navy in the 1970s and participated in combat missions around the world over the next few decades. The Navy stopped flying the F-14 in 2006, after replacing it with the F/A-18 Super Hornet made by US defense manufacturer Boeing. However, the F-14 has remained a celebrated aircraft, in part because of its spotlight in the "Top Gun" blockbusters. The US sold nearly 80 F-14s to Iran, once an American partner, before the 1979 Iranian Revolution ended relations between the two countries. Washington cut support and supplies of spare parts for the Tomcats, and Tehran's inventory slowly declined over time as maintenance and logistical challenges mounted. Iran still has its jets, though, and is the only remaining operator. Iran's F-14s, like much of its air force, are relatively obsolete due to international sanctions and embargoes that prevent the country from modernizing its fleet. Tehran also operates other aging aircraft, including Soviet-era Su-24s and MiG-29s and US-made F-5s. The limitations of its airpower have forced Iran to rely on building a large arsenal of ballistic missiles and attack drones. Tehran was said to have purchased newer Su-35 aircraft from Russia, although it's unclear if any have been delivered. Israel has struck additional aircraft beyond the two F-14s, including at least one aerial refueling tanker and eight attack helicopters, since beginning a new operation last Friday aimed at degrading Iran's nuclear program, a longtime goal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Over the past week, Israeli fighter jets have carried out widespread airstrikes across Iran, targeting its nuclear facilities, top scientists, senior commanders, missile launchers, air defenses, and other high-profile military infrastructure. The Iranians have responded by launching hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is weighing whether to use US assets to strike Iran's most hardened nuclear sites. Iran has said that it will retaliate if American forces intervene in the conflict.
NHK
10 hours ago
- Politics
- NHK
Israel, Iran continue attacks, nuclear facility in western Iran damaged
Concerns are growing that Israel and Iran will further escalate military action, as the clash between the two countries enters its second week. The Israeli military said on Friday that it conducted overnight airstrikes on dozens of targets in central Tehran, including research headquarters for nuclear weapons development, as well as missile production sites. Israel continues to attack nuclear facilities across Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Friday that key buildings at an inactive nuclear reactor facility in Khondab, western Iran, were damaged. Satellite images taken by US company Maxar Technologies show the damage at the site, which is believed to have been attacked on Wednesday evening. The white reactor building in the pre-attack image appears in the post-attack image to be burned, with a hole at its center. Some of the buildings around the reactor are completely destroyed. The Reuters news agency has reported that the nuclear facility's infrastructure has been damaged. Israeli media reported that seven people sustained minor injuries after an Iranian missile hit a residential district in the southern city of Beersheba. Attention is on whether the United States will attack an underground nuclear facility in Fordow, central Iran, with a "bunker buster" bomb, which can strike a target deep below ground level. Israel reportedly requested military intervention by the US. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a domestic TV station on Thursday that the country is capable of attacking the Fordow site without US involvement.
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Why Israel cannot bomb this Iranian nuclear facility
Why Israel cannot bomb this Iranian nuclear facility Jayanta Kalita Jun 20, 2025, 15:18 IST IST The Fordo uranium enrichment facility (satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies) lies an estimated 80 to 90 metres underground, placing it beyond the reach of any known aerial bomb in Israel's arsenal. This makes a successful airstrike on the site extremely difficult, if not impossible, without US assistance Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently asserted that missile strikes on Iran's nuclear sites had set the country's nuclear programme back a 'very, very long time'. However, Israel has yet to reach the Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is deeply embedded within a mountainside. Striking Fordo would require direct US involvement – a crucial decision US President Donald Trump appears to be considering amid the early days of the conflict between Israel and Iran.
NDTV
14 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Satellite Images Show Massive Damage To Iran's Arak Nuclear Facility
New Delhi: Satellite pictures from Maxar Technologies, dated June 19, confirm that Israel's recent airstrike caused substantial structural damage to Iran's heavy water reactor facility at Arak, also known as Khondab, roughly 250 kilometres southwest of Tehran. The high-resolution images reveal the collapse of the upper section of the reactor dome alongside visible destruction to adjacent infrastructure, including distillation towers. While Iranian authorities acknowledged that "projectiles" had struck the compound, they did not initially disclose the extent of the destruction. The satellite images provide the most detailed visual confirmation of the Israeli strike's impact. Facility Designed For Plutonium Production Though not operational at the time of the strike, the Arak facility has remained under close observation by nuclear experts due to its technical capacity to produce plutonium, a material that, like highly enriched uranium, can be used to construct a nuclear weapon. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. Arak was originally conceived in the 1990s following Iran's decision to pursue a nuclear capability in response to the 1980-88 war with Iraq. Unable to procure a heavy water reactor from international sources, Tehran opted to develop its own. According to the Associated Press, heavy water reactors differ from light water reactors in that they use deuterium oxide (heavy water) as a neutron moderator, enabling the use of natural uranium and the production of plutonium as a byproduct. The Israeli Strikes Over the past week, Israel has acknowledged strikes on Natanz, Isfahan, Karaj, and Tehran, describing the campaign as a preemptive measure to degrade Iran's nuclear capabilities and prevent any progress toward weaponisation. Video footage released by the Israel Defense Forces shows precision-guided munitions hitting the reactor dome, followed by a plume of fire and debris. The footage, though brief, was consistent with Maxar's satellite imagery showing the collapse of the reactor dome's crown structure. In a statement, Israeli officials said the attack was "intended to target the plutonium-producing component of the Khondab reactor in order to prevent its restoration and eventual use for military nuclear development." The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, has confirmed that there was no radiological release from the Arak facility, noting that the reactor was not yet loaded with fuel and had never entered operational status. Nevertheless, the agency expressed "serious concern" over the precedent of military attacks on nuclear installations. Arak's Role In 2015 Nuclear Deal The Arak reactor was a contentious point during the negotiations of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. As part of that agreement, Iran pledged to redesign the reactor to significantly reduce its plutonium output and render part of the core inoperable by pouring concrete into it. Yet, following the US withdrawal from the agreement in 2018 under US President Donald Trump, progress on the redesign halted. In 2019, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation at the time, revealed on Iranian state television that duplicate parts had been secretly procured to allow for the potential reassembly of the disabled components. Inspectors from the IAEA have repeatedly said since then that due to limitations imposed by Iranian authorities, the agency lost "continuity of knowledge" regarding both the reactor's configuration and heavy water stockpiles.
