Tehran and 'Preparation 'H'
The "Preparation H" Forces (Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis) are simply proxy fingers on an Iranian glove
As I've said here and on my personal page until I'm just about hoarse from shouting: keep your eyes on the ball: all of the "Preparation H" Forces (Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis) are simply proxy fingers on an Iranian glove. Here are some statements from one middle finger stiff:
"A commander in the Islamic Jihad revealed in his Shin Bet investigation: our operatives are training in Iran
"A platoon commander in the Islamic Jihad, who went on a sniper course in Iran, told in his investigation about the training that the country provides to the organization's operatives on its soil: 'There are operatives who went through rocket and artillery courses and training in Iran'“
Listen: I'm not surprised, nor claiming any "scoop": this detail has been noted in numerous interviews and leaks before, and since, the Oct. 7th attack. Just - unfortunately - rarely in non-Israeli media. Which is a galling shame, particularly in the US, who, along with UK military allies, are taking the brunt of Iranian proxy strikes against their forces throughout the region - particularly in Iraq, and, of course, the Gulf.
Their relatively tepid military stand-off responses, "strongly-worded letters" between embassies, and stern press conference blather are not being read by our common foes as prudent, responsible, or proportional; they are viewed as weakness and simply a goad to see how far Tehran can push that red line.
And they have and will continue doing so. It's like America is playing grampa'-level checkers at the old two-pump gas station somewhere down the quiet desert road. Tehran, meanwhile, is playing three-dimensional chess on multiple playing fields: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, the Gulf, and Red Sea, infiltrating South America, and forging effective weaponry and diplo ties with Moscow.
Chess is a game they claim to have invented; I'd take 'em at their word on this one. They're clever, patient bastards, and they're whipping us, too.
For the record, the publisher of this report, Kan Israel News - the "official" (and often highly critical of the present government) voice of Israel - is not some warmongering righty conspiracy site, and the Shin Bet (Israel's "FBI") wouldn't publicly release this damning evidence unless they could back it up - especially after the debacle of not foreseeing the Hamas rampage, and the threat of potential military, diplo, and PR blowback if Iran wanted to react.
I know, I know, I can also hear those voices at 1600 Penn and at State: "'C'mon, man!' ...Dave, Dave, Dave - listen, it's an election year and optics, and I have to please the lefty base, even while trying to stave off an approaching polling debacle, and it's so far away from our shores, and Ukraine, and the border... but if we blame it all on Israeli intransigence - we're off the hook with the Arab world, our base, and pulling in votes from the isolationist right - trifecta, dude!" 'This is a big 'effin' deal!" as one POTUS has been known to put it.
America: It's not about the Jews, Arabs, Israel, Palestine, or even the presidential race- the latter is a dumpster fire of epic proportions that I'm not going to explore. As so many have said here and elsewhere: do it for yourselves, for the West, for a better world, for international commerce and shipping, for thwarting Russo-Sino plans to back Tehran into becoming the regional hegemon.
Israel isn't "the tail wagging the dog" here. If anything, Jerusalem is the one insistently pointing, clearly and with hardcore proof, again and again, who, in fact, is:
The commander of a division in the Islamic Jihad, Bassel Mahdi, revealed in his investigation by the Shin Bet that operatives of the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip are training in Iran. This is what the Shin Bet allowed to publish today (Tuesday). Mehdi was arrested about a month ago by IDF and Shin Bet forces in the Gaza Strip and was transferred to Israel for questioning.
"In his Shin Bet investigation, he described the training that the Islamic Jihad operatives went through at an Iranian military training base. The training was conducted by Iranian soldiers in groups of 15-20 Islamic Jihad terrorists from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
"'My commander called me and said that I had to go to Iran For a sniper course, which I will benefit from, and my salary will increase when I return,' said Mehdi. He noted that 'there are activists who have gone through rocket and artillery courses and training in Iran.'
"According to him, 'I traveled from the Gaza Strip to Egypt, where I stayed for about two weeks. From there I traveled to Syria for a few days and then to Lebanon. After two weeks, we traveled from Syria to Iran again. In Iran, the course was 15 days. It included physical fitness training and shooting training on various types of weapons. Four days was training on a Kalashnikov at a distance of 100 meters, five days at a distance of 100 to 150 meters, six days on a Dragunov (sniper rifle). We practiced shooting at stones, targets, balloons at a distance of 300 meters.'"
They're inittowinit - are America and the West?
[The US-born author is a four-decade Israeli resident, serves on his Galilee village first-responders team, and is a former NPR bureau chief and local English-language journalist.]