There’s been much whispering in the global press about what next move Israel and the United States might make against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
While there have been no official declarations from either Tel Aviv or Washington, reports do indicate that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought up the prospects of the two nations striking Iran once more before the Israeli elections scheduled for October 27 (and before the US Midterm elections).
F-22 Raptor Reverse. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
F-22 Raptor High in the Sky. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Neither the president nor his Israeli partner has said they will do anything before their respective elections.
Nevertheless, the Iranians are not waiting around to be struck.
They’ve started escalating everywhere.
For starters, the Iranians have increased their attacks against global shipping via the Strait of Hormuz (SoH). But that’s not all.
Restarting the War
The great bugaboo of the Israelis and Americans, we have been told, is the Iranian nuclear weapons capability.
In fact, President Donald Trump has often repeated the claim that he was attacking Iran to prevent Iran from nuking Israel.
While there was zero evidence that the Iranians were planning to do that (or that the Iranians even had a nuclear weapons capability), the fact remains that both the president and Prime Minister Netanyahu are obsessed with Iran’s nuclear weapons threat.
Iranian forces, according to both the Jerusalem Post and Wall Street Journal, are reinforcing their nuclear installations.
Iranians have also been captured on satellite repairing their damaged missile facilities–all while mobilizing their sizable population for what many in Tehran believe will be a renewed offensive by the Americans and/or Israelis against Iran.
Indeed, satellite imagery confirms that Iran is engaged in massive defensive construction at several sensitive nuclear weapons installations.
Vantor, a private satellite firm working with the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based think tank, assessed that Iran built additional defensive barriers around the Natanz nuclear complex.
There are also indications that the Iranians are drastically reinforcing Pickaxe Mountain, the newest and most modern underground nuclear weapons development facility in the country.
That facility is not yet fully operational.
But it has become a major point of contention among the US, Israel, and Iran.
Last month, Iranians built earthen barriers and other passive defense structures around these facilities.
The measures indicate that Iran is concerned about the prospect of a potential ground assault.
These new fortifications do not prove that Iran has or has restarted a nuclear weapons program.
However, they suggest that Tehran wants to cling to whatever capabilities it retains amid renewed US and Israeli military pressure.
Not Quite “OBLITERATED”
Initial battle damage assessments from both US intelligence and Israeli intelligence indicated that the first wave of their strikes did significant damage to Iran’s missile and drone launch capabilities.
They have since said their initial battle damage assessments were too optimistic.
Now, it sounds like both Washington and Tel Aviv are saying their initial claims of having “OBLITERATED” Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities were a grievous overstatement.
The Iranians know the exaggerated estimates both US and Israeli intelligence services shared with the public.
Tehran sees the way in which neither President Trump nor Prime Minister Netanyahu is deterred from their desire to knock out Iranian nuclear weapons sites.
The Iranians won’t wait for the hits to come.
They are fortifying as never before.
Inside Iran, as the economic situation collapses due to the US economic pressure imposed upon the Islamic Republic, Iranian authorities have organized public rallies, advertised training involving shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, and dispatched paramilitary personnel to schools to deliver accounts of previous wars.
So, it’s not just that Iran is readying to defend their existing military facilities.
The Iranian people, whom we were told would rise against their government once American bombs started dropping, are now rallying to the defense of the country.
Iranian officials have also warned neighboring Arab governments that another US or Israeli attack would result in a widespread Iranian retaliation across the region.
Iran Readying to Preempt the US & Israel
That response will not come only from Iran.
There are Iranian affiliates in neighboring Iraq, Hezbollah, and the Houthis; these groups are all operating loosely together to help Iran fend off the US and Israeli militaries.
While it is not guaranteed that the US or Israel will restart war with Iran soon, it seems likely.
The prospects of a war restarting are high.
And the US or Israel might not even kick it off.
Iran might initiate it, seeking to preempt whatever threats it perceives from Washington and Tel Aviv.
The fortifications indicate that Iran is preparing for another round of war.
The threat conditions there are high. Grave miscalculations could abound.
About the author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is the Senior National Security Editor. He also manages The Weichert Brief on Substack. Weichert is the co-host for The Mario Nawfal Show on Twitter/X. He is the author of four bestselling national security books, most recently A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine (Encounter Books). His next book, Fortress Americas: A New Monroe Doctrine (Tucker Carlson Books), is due out December 8. Follow him via Twitter/X @WeTheBrandon. These opinions expressed are the author’s own.
