A U.S.–Iran War At Last? By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

Israeli and U.S. warmongers have wanted a war with Iran since before the turn of the century. They may finally get their wish. From Kelley Beaucar Vlahos at theamericanconservative.com:

As Israel readies for confrontation with Hezbollah, American war hawks are smacking their lips.

Washington hawks may get their war with Iran at last.

The chances are now greater than at any time since October 7 that Israel and Hezbollah will come to blows in a full-on war, and military and regional experts warn it could be uglier and more kinetic than in 2006, when a 34-day conflict killed upwards of 1300 Lebanese and 165 Israelis.

“The escalation is really significant and in my opinion we are really right now at a dangerous moment. [It] can basically move into an all out war at any time—any mistake, any miscalculation by either party can really push the confrontation which so far has been limited to border clashes,” said Randa Slim, who spoke this week to DW News in Germany, noting that Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, part of the so-called “axis of resistance,” were already lining up and pledging military support. 

The Israeli government has been signaling all over the place that it may launch an operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon this summer—and that Iran won’t be far behind. 

“We are in an existential war on seven fronts,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Monday. Netanyahu claimed that this war was led by Iran, which is “working in obvious ways to destroy us.”

“At any cost and in any way, we will thwart Iran’s intentions to destroy us,” he said. 

The militant wing of Shi’a Hezbollah, a powerful political bloc in the Lebanese government, is backed by Shi’a Iran. Some say an Israeli invasion of Lebanon, particularly if it poses an existential threat to Hezbollah, would be a “red line” for Iran, and Tehran would have to get involved at some level in order to maintain the credibility of a major security patron. Iran’s resolve to restart a nuclear weapons program would be further hardened. 

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This is where the U.S. comes in. As Israel’s primary ally and longtime adversary of Iran, if the Islamic Republic were to lean in—whether directly or by activating the “axis of resistance” militias against U.S. assets and troops in the region—Washington would be compelled to meet the challenge, experts say, and are probably preparing for that scenario today. 

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