Israel Update: War Aims & Their Feasibility  

Peloni:  Mike Doran and Gadi Taub discuss the conclusion that when Trump calls for Regime Change in Iran, he is actually signalling Regime Transformation, as explained below.  An important point confirming this suggestion is Trump’s recent comment explaining that many of the potential future leaders with whom he contemplated possibly engaging actually died in the attack alongside Khamenei.

Peloni

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A very interesting and thought provoking conversation by Mike Doran and Gadi Taub regarding the future paths of war and peace in Iran.  In the first 30 minutes, Mike argues that Trump is straddling the line between premiere policies pursued by both Obama and George W. Bush, i.e. the JCPOA and regime change, both of which Trump has been highly vocal in criticizing over the years.  He argues that Trump is in fact trying to not be Bush while also not being Obama leaves him with the choice of pursuing regime transformation rather than preserving or replacing the regime in Iran.

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March 3, 2026 | 8:10 pm | Comments »

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Israel and US Victory in the Ayatollah Wars  

The US and Israel air forces struck with precision, based on exquisite intelligence, and wiped out the wicked Ayatollah and his evil senior leadership team in one fell swoop. And that’s for starters.

Leonard Grunstein | Mar 3, 2026

IDF strikes inside Tehran, Mar 1, 2026. Screengrab via Youtube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzzhGOJr0cUIDF strikes inside Tehran, Mar 1, 2026. Screengrab via Youtube

Iran’s aggression against the United States:

It began, shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, under the rule of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader, with the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and holding of 52 American hostages.

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March 3, 2026 | 8:04 pm | Comments »

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The Iran Question Is All About China  

Why Operation Epic Fury Is the Opening Act of the Indo-Pacific Century

Zineb Riboua | Beyond the Ideological | Feb 28, 2026

Xi Jinping meets with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ali Khamenei. January 23, 2016. Photo by Khamenei.ir, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=118746937Xi Jinping meets with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ali Khamenei. January 23, 2016. Photo by Khamenei.ir, CC BY 4.0, Wikipedia

Iran is most often discussed as a nonproliferation problem, a sponsor of terrorism, a regional spoiler. Each of these framings captures a real problem, but none captures what matters most. The nuclear file, the militia archipelago stretching from Lebanon to Yemen, the question of Gulf security architecture: these only acquire their full meaning when read against the backdrop of Chinese grand strategy.

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March 3, 2026 | 6:16 pm | 1 Comment »

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Selected War Updates March 3  

Qatar strikes Iran while Israel expects Saudi Arabia to join war | IDF attacks during election of new Iranian leader | No victims, limited damage in missile attacks from Iran & Hezbollah

All Israel News Staff | Published: March 3, 2026

17:12 – Pakistan reminds Iran of defense pact with Saudi Arabia to stop further attacks

Nuclear-armed Pakistan has stressed its defense pact with Saudi Arabia in talks with the Iranian leadership, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said at a news conference in Islamabad on Tuesday.

“I informed the Iranian side about our defense agreement,” said Dar, “The Iranian side said Saudi Arabia should ensure that its territory is not used against Iran.”

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March 3, 2026 | 5:48 pm | 1 Comment »

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Israel strikes building used by Iran’s Assembly of Experts amid discussions over Khamenei’s successor  

Peloni:  Brilliant demonstration that Israel continues to command complete military dominance over the most secure and sensitive aspects of Iran’s leadership, even after having eliminate more than three dozen of its most senior leadership in the opening salvo of the war.

Assembly of Experts is clerical body responsible for choosing next Iranian Supreme Leader

All Israel News Staff | Published: March 3, 2026

Iran’s Assembly of Experts was struck by Israel while a votes were being counted to determine who would lead Iran next. Screengrab via X. https://x.com/Osint613/status/2028837578762232199Iran’s Assembly of Experts was struck by Israel while a votes were being counted to determine who would lead Iran next. Mar 3, 2026. Screengrab via X.

The Israeli Air Force struck a building in Qom, Iran, being used by the Assembly of Experts, the body of religious leaders responsible for choosing the next Supreme Leader, Israeli officials told media outlets on Monday.

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March 3, 2026 | 5:32 pm | Comments »

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Update on Iranian Missile and Drone Attacks  

Iran’s Missile Capability is Significantly Degraded

Below please find an up to date analysis of the number of missiles fired by Iran. The information was assembled from AI sources plus the author’s own input.

The US and Israel are focusing on destroying Iranian launchers (typically mobile TELs or Transporter, Erector, Launchers). I would expect much more attrition of launchers in the coming few days.

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March 3, 2026 | 5:29 pm | 1 Comment »

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The Iran Endgame  

Peloni: Tony Badran, a foremost authority on the Levant and new editor at Tablet magazine, criticizes the Trump administration’s strategic endgame for the war with Iran, named Operation Epic Fury, as it remains unclear and internally contradictory. Trump described the justification for the war by condemning the Iranian regime’s five?decades long hostility toward the United States, describing the campaign as both a punishment for Iran’s “Death to America” state policy as well as a chance for the Iranian people’s “hour of freedom.” However, despite this initial rhetoric, Badran highlights that Trump’s stated goals have since become ambiguous as he has both signaled limited, punitive objectives and floated broader visions for regime change.

Badran relates this emerging uncertainty with Trump’s historical skepticism of nation?building and his preference for decisive, limited military actions. He outlines several possible Trump post-conflict options including maintaining a weakened IRGC regime with which negotiations might resume (“Venezuela option”), decimating Iran’s command structure leaving internal forces to determine the country’s future, or a hybrid approach that risks strengthening the IRGC under U.S. protection.

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March 3, 2026 | 3:56 pm | 4 Comments »

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On Iran attacks, J Street diverges from the Israeli left  

Peloni:  It has been an important reality that Israel’s entire body politic has remained steadfast in support of the policy of eliminating the Iranian threat.  The role being played by J Street sets it apart from any support of Israel in a fundamental and significant aspect, as well importantly explained by Moshe Phillips in the below column.

Its repeated criticism of actions of self-defense—and now, its opposition to the elimination of a nuclear threat—raise real questions about its priorities.

Moshe Phillips

Iranian missile strikes Tel Aviv. Feb 28, 2026.  Screengrab via Youtube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7-ZVauuPh0Iranian missile strikes Tel Aviv. Feb 28, 2026. Screengrab via Youtube

Echoes of some of the very darkest periods of recent Jewish history reverberated in the statements made by anti-Zionist Jews over the weekend of the initial phases of joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

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March 3, 2026 | 3:16 pm | 1 Comment »

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IDF BEGINS NEW GROUND INCURSION IN LEBANON, seizes high ground to prevent Hezbollah fire at northern Israel  

Peloni:  The borderline with Lebanon needs to be extended northwards.  The active and continued threat from Hezbollah attacks has been demonstrated to be real and ongoing, and internationally imposed ceasefires have simultaneously failed to mature into anything more than a pause between missile barrages without Hezbollah surrendering a single rifle or rocket, demonstrating that peaceful conditions are not possible under the current arrangement.

IDF kills Iranian Quds Force commander leading Hezbollah’s rearmament

All Israel News Staff | Published: March 3, 2026

Hezbollah Command Center attacked. March 3, 2026Hezbollah Command Center attacked. March 3, 2026. Screengrab via Youtube

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) entered Lebanese territory on Tuesday, in an operation aimed at seizing high ground that could be used by Hezbollah to fire on Israeli communities.

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March 3, 2026 | 11:42 am | 1 Comment »

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There is neither security nor safety in Jordan, unfortunately.  

Rabbi Jacob Herzog | X | Mar 2, 2026

Image via X

* There is neither security nor safety in Jordan, unfortunately. More Iranian rockets are falling on Jordan, and there will be casualties, unfortunately, while the government is hiding everything up to now and concealing the number of injured. Meanwhile, the king’s family and all his relatives have fled the country and are now in Europe.

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March 3, 2026 | 3:23 am | 1 Comment »

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Is It ‘America Alone’ In The Fight To Save The West From China And Islam?  

Peloni: A description of the growing isolation between the US and its erstwhile allies in North America and Europe in the struggle against the CCP and Jihadism.  America needs to react to these realities or risk becoming swallowed by its the institutionalize failures among the nations of the Free World to actually keep the world free.

Increasingly, countries that were once U.S. allies are aligning themselves with America’s enemies.

Janet Levy | Am Thinker | March 2, 2026

The signs were obvious two decades ago, and the insightful Mark Steyn—the conservative Canadian author—addressed them then. In numerous books, written in his sharp, convincing style, he warned that America would soon become isolated in its fight against Islamist jihad. Today, that loneliness appears to be fully realized.

His 2006 book America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It, convincingly argued that much of the Western world would not survive the 21st century. Europe, with its declining birthrate, would be the first to go—thanks to white people being “too self-absorbed to breed,” while Muslims worked to change the demographics in their favor.

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March 3, 2026 | 2:59 am | 1 Comment »

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With Iraqi militia attacks on US forces, Iraq edges toward Iran war frontline  

Peloni:  The current circumstances provide for an important opportunity to neutralize the Iranian aligned militias in Iraq, thus freeing Iraq from Iran’s control.

Iranian-backed militias have launched a series of drone attacks targeting US bases in Iraq, raising the question: has Iraq become the next frontline in the widening Iran war?

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN | 

The Iraqi pro-Iranian group Saraya Awliya Al Dam claims responsibility for attacks on a U.S. base near Iraq's Erbil airport. Screengrab via YoutubeThe Iraqi pro-Iranian group Saraya Awliya Al Dam claims responsibility for attacks on a U.S. base near Iraq’s Erbil airport on Mar 1, 2026. Screengrab via Youtube

Iranian-backed militias are targeting US forces in Iraq. The Iranian-linked group Saraya Awliya Al-Dam claimed to have targeted American bases in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq, on March 1. Numerous reports in Erbil said they heard explosions in and around the airport. This appears to be how Iran is seeking to expand the war to Iraq.

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March 2, 2026 | 10:52 am | 1 Comment »

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The Brilliance of Israel’s Shield of Light Laser System  

Peloni:  Israel’s Shield of Light Laser system is now functioning in the field as seen below.  This technology gives Israel a clear and substantive advantage over all comers, which represents an important shift in battlefield capabilities, and these capabilities will only grow with time.  As Yossi Baum explains, it is impossible to over emphasize the importance of this achievement.

Yossi Baum | X | March 1, 2026

It is impossible to exaggerate the significance of interception by laser – Israel’s “Magen Or” (“Shield of Light”) system.

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March 2, 2026 | 7:03 am | 1 Comment »

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Remember That Pier?  

Oded J.K. Faran and Walter E. Block

Overhead image of the connection of the Gaza Pier shortly after completion by US military forces on May 16, 2024. Photo by U.S. Central Command Public Affairs - https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8409461/trident-pier-emplacement, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=148447848Overhead image of the connection of the Gaza Pier shortly after completion by US military forces on May 16, 2024. Photo by U.S. Central Command Public Affairs – dvidshub.net, Public Domain, Wikipedia

Former president Joe Biden is widely known as a staunch friend and ally of Israel’s. At least in some circles. For example, the AP claims of him that he is a Zionist “in his heart.” Reuters offers this quote of Mr. Biden: “I am a Zionist.” According to NBC News: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden, who have a long history together, have been plunged into a wartime partnership.” Al Jazeera features a picture of the two of them hugging each other and goes on to say: “’It’s the price of waging a war.’ Those were Joe Biden’s words in late October, when the United States president was asked about civilian casualties in war-stricken Gaza.” NPR maintains: “Biden faces pushback within his own party for his unwavering support of Israel.”

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March 2, 2026 | 6:39 am | 2 Comments »

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