WAR? Or — Just a 5-Year Long Escalation? IRAN, ISRAEL, GAZA, TRUMP & ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO EXIST
- Jun 13, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 15
By Judd Dunning
Missiles are flying, alliances are shifting, and the world is watching as Israel fights for its very right to exist.
Let’s not misinterpret the missile war between Iran and Israel as something that came out of nowhere.
It was a forced hand—one that had long been seen as inevitable. It had been waiting—waiting for Obama and Biden to get out of the way, for a more isolationist “America First” Trump to return, and for the chance to act before a nuclear weapon could be developed to exterminate an entire race.
It didn’t begin with a drone. It escalated when Iran saw the October 7th massacre as a prime opportunity to escalate the conflict, to call on an inflamed pan-Islamic world, to chant and celebrate, to openly call for Israel’s genocide—and then to launch 300 missiles.
A weakened and politicized West—under the Obama-Biden doctrine—was ideologically soft, morally hesitant, and still reeling from the Afghanistan debacle. American foreign policy had been neutered. Iran saw that the window was closing.
With Trump’s return and the political ballast in the United States shifting toward “at least not stopping them”, Israeli forces could finally act—and had to, before it was too late.
Intelligence had confirmed that Iran’s nuclear capability had gotten far too close. This was their moment.
Meanwhile, the truth of the matter, when reviewed properly, the escalated exchanges between the two regimes had never truly stopped.
The Israeli strike was not a provocation—it was a continuation.
Just another day in a long-running response to Iranian aggression, one blow in a conflict that has been now openly escalating for years.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched the deadliest terrorist attack on Jews since the Holocaust — murdering over 1,200 Israelis, raping women, burning families alive, and taking hostages, including children and the elderly. That wasn’t resistance. That was genocide in practice.
Israel responded as any sovereign nation would: by declaring war. It launched a military campaign to eliminate Hamas from Gaza, root by root. The world watched — and then, to Israel’s horror — much of it turned against the Jewish state.
The UN condemned Israel more than Hamas.Campuses exploded with antisemitism.Gaza became the rallying cry for global anti-Zionists.
But here’s what matters: Gaza was only the spark.
What followed wasn’t local. It was orchestrated. Iran’s Axis of Resistance — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the IRGC itself — activated. The shadow war became kinetic. And the missiles started flying.
2020–2023: The Quiet War
Although this has been going on for decades with a clear Iranian agenda to undermine as well as extinguish Israel and Western civilization — the Quiet War intensified during June 2020 to October 2023, Iran and Israel then engaged in an escalated long-range game of chess. Israel struck Iranian proxy targets in Syria. Iran used proxies to hit back — via cyberattacks, UAVs, and deniable operations.
In February 2022, after Israel hit an Iranian drone base, Iran retaliated — not against Israel — but against a U.S. consulate in Iraq. That was the line: Iran rarely fired at Israel directly.
The Houthis, meanwhile, targeted Saudi Arabia and the UAE — not Israel. Until everything changed in 2023.
October 7, 2023: Hamas Unleashes Hell
This was the strategic pivot. Over 1,200 dead. Over 250 hostages. The psychological trauma was off the charts. Israel declared war on Hamas and launched a ground campaign in Gaza.
But the war didn’t stay in Gaza.
Iran’s proxies saw the opportunity — and took it. Hezbollah in Lebanon escalated. The Houthis in Yemen joined in. And for the first time in modern history, Iran itself would soon openly follow – and they did.
April 1, 2024 – Israel Strikes Iranian Consulate in Damascus
The IDF bombed an Iranian consular facility in Syria, killing two senior IRGC generals and several others. The site was considered Iranian diplomatic soil. This was bold. Deliberate. Israel sent a message: we will strike you — anywhere.
April 13, 2024 – Iran Fires 300 Missiles at Israel
Iran responded with the largest direct attack in its history. Over 300 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missileslaunched from Iranian territory toward Israel.
Nearly all were intercepted by a Western-led defense coalition (Israel, U.S., UK, France, Jordan). Only minor damage was reported at Nevatim Airbase — but the point wasn’t damage. It was deterrence. It was escalation.
Iran, for the first time, had gone fully overt.
April 18–19, 2024 – Israel Responds
Israel launched a limited retaliatory strike near Isfahan, targeting a radar installation near the Natanz nuclear site. The strike was calibrated — not meant to ignite full-scale war, but to show reach and restraint.
July–September 2024 – Israel Hits Back Quietly
Three top figures were eliminated:
Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas — in Tehran
Hassan Nasrallah, head of Hezbollah
An unnamed IRGC general
This wasn’t about Gaza anymore. Israel was going upstream — cutting the head off the hydra.
October 1, 2024 – Iran’s Operation True Promise II
Another barrage: roughly 180–200 ballistic missiles fired from Iran at Israeli military bases. This time, 20–30 missiles struck targets, including a hangar and airfield at Nevatim.
A Palestinian civilian was killed. Iran cited Israel’s leadership assassinations and its incursion into Lebanon as justification.
September 29, 2024 – Houthis Fire on Ben Gurion Airport
The Houthis, now formally part of the war, then launched a ballistic missile at Israel’s main international airport. It was intercepted. But the message was clear: this is now a multi-front war, spanning from Lebanon to Yemen.
Throughout late 2024, the Iranian-backed Houthis launched 10–20 drone and missile attacks on Israel. Most were intercepted. All were launched in coordination with Iran’s strategic posture.
October 26, 2024 – Israel’s Deeper Strike into Iran
Israel responded with airstrikes on Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam, targeting missile production facilities, drone factories, and air defenses. Iran reported limited military casualties. Nuclear and oil sites were deliberately avoided.
June 13, 2025 – Operation Rising Lion
Israel launched its most aggressive campaign yet: a broad-spectrum aerial assault on Iranian nuclear infrastructure and defense sites in Tehran, Natanz, and Shiraz.
As of June 2025, Iran has not responded with another barrage — but its leadership declared on state TV: “We are now the sword above Israel’s neck.”
And the world watches — distracted, divided, and largely unprepared for what may come next.
The Bigger Picture
Iran has now directly fired hundreds of missiles at Israel. It has ordered or empowered Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis to attack Israeli civilians. It has publicly declared — on record — its goal to fully eliminate the Zionist regime.
This is not theory. This is a “Hitler-esque” threat and war to Israel. This is a yet another call for total genocide. It is not a regional land grab, like Ukraine. It’s different, it’s much darker. And it’s playing out in real time.
Iran Launches 100 Drones
And now, the world holds its breath. At this very moment, more than 100 Iranian drones and missiles—some requiring up to seven hours to reach their targets—are cutting through the skies toward Israel, as the nation braces for impact and the global order waits in suspense, anticipating the next strike in a war that threatens to engulf the region. With skies contested, embassies shuttered, and airspace sealed across the Middle East, the fragile balance teeters on the edge of full-scale war.
What began as calibrated warnings is quickly evolving into direct confrontation, with both state and proxy forces maneuvering in real time. Each hour brings new signals, new strikes, and new risks of escalation.
Trump has just this morning let the world know that America knew this was coming. As Iran vows an unlimited response and Israel reaffirms its right to act unilaterally, this has become more than retaliation—it’s a battle for existence, fought not only on the battlefield, but in cyberspace, in diplomacy, and in the collective psyche of a watching world.
And yet—it’s just another day in a long history.
Israel, for its part, had waited. As the Biden administration projected ambiguity and restraint, Israel moved from the shadows—almost too late. It needed the cover of Trump-era strategic isolationism: a geopolitical quiet that allowed it to plan, arm, and assess. But the waiting came at a cost. That wait is now over, forced by necessity. And held in proper context, it’s just another day in Israel—defending its right to exist.
America’s Commitment
And as for us on Israel? The birthplace of Judeo-Christian ethics—the moral foundation for America’s entire framework. The land where Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, walked. A Western democratic stronghold in the heart of a region dominated by dictatorships. In a world where women and gays are treated like subhumans, and where Islamic extremism openly calls for the death of our country, Israel stands as a beacon of shared values.
As Americans, we should always hold two unwavering loyalties: one to the land we came from—England—and one to the land that gave us our spiritual and moral foundation—Israel. These bonds must never be broken. Because from them, the great values and faith of our “Great Representative Republic” whence came.
The Existential Truth
There are 15 million Jews alive today. Six million were murdered in the Holocaust — 40% of world Jewry, gone in under five years.
Now the world listens to a regime that promises to finish the job — and still debates Israel’s right to exist?
Missiles are flying. Proxies are active. Israel is surrounded.
And the international community still hesitates.
Israel won’t.
Never again means never again.
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