Israel’s latest unprovoked attack on Iran began on June 13 with the bombing of the nation’s nuclear and military facilities — as well as targeted assassinations of at least nine Iranian nuclear scientists, along with several key figures in Iran’s military and intelligence leadership. Iran reported on June 16 that at least 224 people, mostly civilians have been killed and 1,400 injured in Israel’s attacks, while Iranian retaliatory missile strikes have reportedly killed at least 24 Israelis and injured more than 500.
Israel’s air assault was launched just two days before representatives of the U.S. and Iran were scheduled to meet to continue negotiations on reaching an agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear capacity. While Israel justified its attack by asserting Iran was very close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, U.S. intelligence agencies had reached a very different conclusion finding that Iran was not currently pursuing a nuclear weapon, and was up to three years away from having that capability. In his social media posts, President Trump has made conflicting statements on the U.S. role in Israel’s offensive and said he was considering an option to order the Pentagon to assist Israel in using powerful bunker buster bombs to destroy Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility built deep inside a mountain.
Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Jennifer Loewenstein, former associate director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who assesses the rationale and consequences of Israel’s attack on Iran, the Trump regime’s apparent role in the assault and the threat that this conflict could trigger a wider regional war involving the U.S.
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