This week’s Communiqué Isranet is Communiqué: Vers un affrontement avec l’Iran?
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SHABBAT READING
Eldad and Medad Successfully Challenge Moses’ Control over Prophecy: Prof. Rabbi David Frankel, The Torah.com, June 6, 2014 — The brief episode of Eldad and Medad (Numbers 11:26-30) is really a subunit within the larger framework of Numbers 11, where we are told how God provided Moses with a special group of seventy elders who would serve as his assistants in his dealings with the tumultuous people. These elders were to undergo a special “initiation rite” (vv. 16-17); they were to follow Moses to the Tent of Meeting that stood at a distance from the Israelite encampment and stand there with Moses in a state of preparedness.
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RESPONSES
“With God’s help, we are going to achieve a lot of accomplishments thanks to you and thanks to our brave soldiers.” — Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
“Two months ago, I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance … I think it’s been excellent. We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it. They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come. A lot more.” — US President Donald J. Trump says in a post on Truth Social.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry Rawan Sheikh Ahmad condemned the Israeli attack on Iranian soil, adding it was “a blatant violation of international laws and norms.”
WATCH: Israel Strikes Iran: Michael Oren and Naftali Bennett, The Free Press, June 13, 2025 — In the early Friday morning hours, Israel launched a series of strikes on Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, defense operations, and the leadership of the Revolutionary Guard. Hours later, I sat down live with Michael Oren, the former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., and Naftali Bennett, the former prime minister of Israel, to discuss this major operation, and what comes next. We looked at all sides of the issue—from the logic of the attack and how Iran might respond, to the expected length of the campaign, and the mood on the ground in Israel.
For more background, read Michael’s piece from earlier this evening about what brought us to this crucial moment: “Is Israel About to Strike Iran’s Nuclear Facilities?”
Khamenei Fears a Collapse of the Islamic Revolution: Oded Allam, Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, June 12, 2025 — Tehran, June 2020. The hall was draped with “Death to America” flags and photos of the revolution. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei entered slowly. Cameras flashed. He sat down, surrounded by aides. On the table lay the “Strategic Action Plan”, Iran’s uranium enrichment program in retaliation for sanctions.
Two Decades of American Folly Made Israel’s Iran Strike Necessary: Jonathan S. Tobin, JNS, June 13, 2025 — Like many, if not most, wars, the conflict between Israel and Iran didn’t have to happen, and certainly, not in this way. But the blame for the hostilities now underway doesn’t belong to the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ordered the Israeli Air Force to undertake a pre-emptive strike on Iranian nuclear targets in the early morning hours of June 13.
Israel’s Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Program: Maps and Photos: Martín González Gómez, Julie Walton Shaver and Pablo Robles, NY Times, June 13, 2025 — Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran on Friday morning, targeting nuclear sites, missile facilities and other military infrastructure. The strikes were also a major blow to Iran’s chain of command, killing top generals.
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‘An Immediate Operational Necessity’: Why Israel Finally Attacked Iran’s Nuclear Facilities: David Horovitz, Times of Israel, June 13, 2025
Israel’s Strike on Iran: How We Got Here, What We Don’t Know and What Happens Next: Ron Kampeas, Times of Israel, June 13, 2025
Vacation Ruse, Phantom Trip, Hostage Decoy: How Israel Misled Tehran Before Iran Strike – Source: Zvika Klein, Jerusalem Post, June 13, 2025
The Nightmare Scenario Arrives: Melanie Phillips, JNS, June 12, 2025
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For Further Reference:
Iran’s Latest Nuclear Breakout: Editorial Board, WSJ, June 12, 2025 — President Trump has “given Iran every opportunity,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday. He’s right, and so has the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations inspectors who have spent 20 years trying to get answers from Iran on its secret nuclear activity. On Thursday Iran’s time ran out with the IAEA.
Iran Publishes ‘Sensitive’ Israeli Documents, Alleges IAEA-Israel Collusion: Lior Ben Ari, Ynet News, June 12, 2025 — Tehran on Thursday released what it said was the first batch of documents obtained by its intelligence services, claiming they include a vast amount of sensitive strategic information related to Israel and its nuclear facilities.
Mossad Set Up Drone Base In Iran, UAVs Took Out Missile Launchers Overnight: Lazar Berman and Emanuel Fabian, Times of Israel, June 13, 2025 — Israel spent years preparing for the operation against Iran’s nuclear and missile programs that was launched early Friday morning, a security official told The Times of Israel, including building a drone base inside Iran and smuggling precision weapons systems and commandos into the country.
Iran Blames U.S. for Permitting Israel to Attack: Saleh al-Batati and Stephen Kalin, WSJ, June 13, 2025 — Iran said it held the U.S., as Israel’s top ally, responsible for Friday’s attacks, which it said could not have been carried out without “coordination and authorization” from Washington.