US appeasement of Iran made Rising Lion inevitable but Israels strikes may transform the Middle East

Make no mistake: Operation Rising Lion is the inevitable culmination of recent history since at least President Barack Obama eroded all traditional US alliances in the Middle East in favor of a dangerous fantasy that a lasting partnership with the Iranian terror regime was possible.Obama’s betrayal began years of appeasement of Tehran, interrupted by the first Trump term but then exacerbated in the Biden years — appeasement that actually funded the regime’s growing network of terror proxies.All the while, Iran doggedly moved ever closer to nuclear-weapons capabilities.The mullahs doubtless ordered up Hamas’ Oct.

7, 2023, assault on Israel not only to stop Saudi Arabia from recognizing the state of Israel but also to provide a distraction and cover for the final sprint.As of Thursday, Tehran had answered the International Atomic Energy Agency’s censure over its nuclear violations (the loudest IAEA alarm bell in 20 years) by announcing the activation of a new, secret third nuclear-enrichment facility — even as it kept up the stall by embracing continued negotiations with US envoys.That’s when the Israelis moved decisively to lance the festering boil before it was too late.Any prime minister of Israel, not only Benjamin Netanyahu, would have chosen to do the same at one minute to nuclear midnight.For Israelis, this is existential.The Islamic Republic’s ambitions are wholly evil and Tehran’s never been shy in proclaiming it.  Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update.

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Never miss a story.It’s far too early for any safe bets on how this plays out. But clearly, with Iran showing no serious intention to strike a deal with Trump as the clock ticked ever closer to a nuclear Iran, Israel felt it had to act now.Let us point out: Contra the ahistorical, twisted, clickbaiting fear...