
Israel's strikes on Iran: Letters to the Editor — June 17, 2025
The Issue: Israel's attacks on Iran's military leaders and its nuclear scientists and facilities.
It was only a matter of time before Israel pulled the trigger ('Israel strikes Iran,' June 13).
Iran and its proxies have been taunting Israel (and, for that matter, the United States) for a very long time. The revelation of nuclear near-preparedness was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Israel will come out of this victoriously, and its neighbors and the rest of the world will be grateful for Israel's assault on this evil regime.
Ronald Frank
West Orange, NJ
National security is the responsibility of the governing body of a nation.
It is Israel's decision to bomb Iran to protect itself. It is not based on the opinion of other nations or groups.
Ed Houlihan
Ridgewood, NJ
The bitter lesson from the 9/11 terrorist attack is to neutralize threats before they materialize on our shores.
As the saying goes, 'If people show you who they are, believe them.' The last thing we need is to allow the world's most prolific sponsor of terrorism to have the world's most deadliest weapons.
President Trump bent over backward to 'give peace a chance' and to remedy this dangerous standoff diplomatically.
Whether the liberals of the world want to acknowledge it or not, the world is a lot safer with Iran defanged.
Luana Dunn
Medford
President Trump loves to make deals, but there are no deals that the Iranian regime can be trusted to honor.
A regime that violated the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and the 2015 JCPOA (former President Obama's Iran deal), as well as its agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency on nuclear-facility inspections, can't be trusted to honor any deal concerning its nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile programs.
The only acceptable conclusion to the current conflict between Israel and Iran is an Israeli victory. This means the complete nuclear disarmament of Iran, overseen by the United States and the IAEA.
No deal that grants the Iranian regime anything else should even be considered, as this would be a recipe for a return of the Iranian nuclear threat currently being removed at such great cost.
Daniel H. Trigoboff
Williamsville
In June 1981, Israel destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor, depriving Saddam Hussein of the ability to develop nuclear weapons and simultaneously doing the world a favor.
This led to the declaration of the Begin Doctrine, which outlines Israel's policy of preventative military strikes to protect itself.
Forty-four years later, Israel has delivered again by crippling the nuclear program of yet another rogue nation. Toda lech!
Peter W. Kelly
Hazlet, NJ
The Issue: Sen. Alex Padilla being handcuffed and thrown out of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's briefing.
Last week, we witnessed a lawfully serving US senator wrestled to the floor and manhandled by security ('Senator in Noem boot,' June 13).
Is George Orwell's fictional world now the reality in President Trump's American autocracy?
Malcolm Odell, Jr.
Exeter, NH
I sent farewell letters to all my loved ones before carrying the sign 'De-throne the lying king' in a protest march this weekend.
I figured if a US senator could be thrown to the ground and handcuffed for simply asking a question, they wouldn't hesitate for a moment in sending this 82-year-old woman to El Salvador.
Sharon Austry
Fort Worth, Texas
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Hamilton Spectator
28 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Trump is at a moment of choosing as Israel looks for more US help crushing Iran's nuclear program
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump in about eight hours Monday went from suggesting a nuclear deal with Iran remained 'achievable' to urging Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his visit to an international summit to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team. He was expected to arrive at the White House early Tuesday at a moment of choosing in his presidency. Israel, with four days of missile strikes, has done considerable damage to Iran and believes it can now deal a permanent blow to Tehran's nuclear program — particularly if it gets a little more help from Trump. But deepening American involvement, perhaps by providing the Israelis with bunker-busting bombs to penetrate Iranian nuclear sites built deep underground or offering other direct U.S. military support, comes with enormous political risk for Trump. He appears to be gradually building the public case for more direct American involvement. 'Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign,' Trump posted on social media shortly before the White House announced that Trump was cutting short his visit to the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies. 'What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!' Trump's shift in tone comes as the U.S. has repositioned warships and military aircraft in the region to respond if the conflict between Israel and Iran further escalates. Speculation grows that Trump may be tilting toward more direct involvement The Israelis say their offensive has eviscerated Iran's air defenses and they can now strike targets across the country at will. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Israeli bombardment will continue until Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missiles are destroyed. So far, Israel has targeted multiple Iranian nuclear program sites but has not been able to destroy Iran's Fordo uranium enrichment facility. The site is buried deep underground — and to eliminate it, Israel may need the U.S. bunker-busting bomb the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. But Israel does not have the munition or the bomber needed to deliver it — the penetrator is currently delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber. Israel's own defenses remain largely intact in the face of Iran's retaliatory strikes, but some of Tehran's missiles are getting through and having deadly impact. The White House, soon after announcing Trump was returning to Washington, dispatched Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for a prime-time Fox News appearance as speculation grows about whether Trump could be tilting toward more direct U.S. involvement. Hegseth told Fox News' Jesse Watters that 'of course' Trump wanted to see a deal made to curb Iran's nuclear program. 'His position has not changed,' Hegseth said. 'What you're watching in real time is peace through strength and America first. Our job is to be strong. We are postured defensively in the region to be strong in pursuit of a peace deal. And we certainly hope that's what happens here.' Trump continues to push Iran to negotiate on its nuclear program Trump, meanwhile, during an exchange with reporters Monday on the sidelines of the G7, declined to say what it would take for the U.S. to get more directly involved. Instead, he continued to press Iran on negotiations over its nuclear program. 'They should talk, and they should talk immediately,' Trump said during a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. He added, 'I'd say Iran is not winning this war.' To be certain, Trump in the days-old conflict has sought to restrain Netanyahu. He rejected a plan presented by Israel to the U.S. to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The Israelis had informed the Trump administration in recent days that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei. After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. A widening schism over Iran among Trump's MAGA supporters Trump on Monday bristled when asked about some of his MAGA faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that further U.S. involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end U.S. involvement in expensive and endless wars. Carlson, a former Fox News host pundit, last week called Trump 'complicit in the act of war' in his subscriber newsletter. Trump took a veiled swipe at Carlson, who for years hosted a popular prime-time show for Fox News, but was ousted in 2023 amid a cascade of bad legal news for the network. 'I don't know what Tucker Carlson is saying,' Trump told reporters. 'Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen.' Later, Trump took another jab at Carlson, who had spoken on Trump's behalf at the 2024 Republican National Convention. 'Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that,' IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!'' the president wrote on social media. Other prominent Trump supporters have also raised concerns about how far the president should go in backing Israel. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk are among prominent Trump World allies who have noted that voters backed Trump because he promised not to entangle the nation in foreign clashes and to be wary of expanding U.S. involvement in the Mideast conflict. He ran on a promise to quickly end the brutal wars in Gaza and Ukraine, but has struggled to find an endgame to either of those conflicts. 'No issue currently divides the right as much as foreign policy,' Kirk posted on X last week, shortly before Israel began carrying out its strikes. 'I'm very concerned based on (everything) I've seen in the grassroots the last few months that this will cause a massive schism in MAGA and potentially disrupt our momentum and our insanely successful Presidency.' But there are also Trump backers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who are making the case that this is Trump's moment to deliver a decisive blow to Iran. Graham is calling for Trump to 'go all-in' in backing Israel and destroying Iran's nuclear program. 'No one can say that President @realDonaldTrump has not tried to seek peace regarding Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Iran,' Graham wrote on X on Monday night. 'He has gone the extra mile and I appreciate that. However, you have to have willing partners to make peace. Iran played the same old game with the wrong guy.' ___ Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Tara Copp, Darlene Superville and Will Weissert contributed reporting. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .


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