Article in The Times of Israel by Andy Blumenthal: Iran has long sought nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. Of course, if the Ayatollah doesn’t change course towards peace, it only makes sense as a strategy for Israel to not only preemptively attack but also incrementally dismantle Iran and its terrorist weapons buildup in three distinct stages.

1. 5/14/23, 3:45 AM Israel's 3 Stages of Attack | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israels-3-stages-of-attack/ 1/5
THE BLOGS
Andy Blumenthal
Leadership With Heart
Israel’s 3 Stages of
Attack
Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal
While missiles from the terrorists in Gaza have been raining on Israel this past
week, and this is a serious threat, we need to keep our eye on the long game,
which is Iran marching ever more quickly towards the nuclear bomb.

2. 5/14/23, 3:45 AM Israel's 3 Stages of Attack | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
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The incredible thing is that before the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the
Shah, Israel had wonderful friendly relations with Iran, and they worked
cooperatively together on agriculture, medicine, infrastructure, and even
security. However, immediately after the religiously fanatical and rabidly anti-
Semitic Ayatollah took over, he severed relations with Israel and sought the
attainment of weapons of mass destruction to destroy them.
Iran’s genocidal ambitions and nuclear buildup
Iran has long sought nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. Just as some examples:
In 2001, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated:
In 2014, Khamenei reiterated, using rhetoric evocative of the Nazis:
In 2021, even as the U.S. and Iran were looking to negotiate for the possible
renewal of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to ease sanctions in
return for Iran walking back its WMD program, Brigadier General Abolfazl
Shekarchi, a spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, stated:
As recently as February 2023, the Internal Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
detected near-weapons-grade uranium in Iran.
It is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to erase Israel from the map of
the region.”
“
This barbaric, wolflike & infanticidal regime of Israel which spares no crime
has no cure but to be annihilated.”
“
We will not back off from the annihilation of Israel, even one millimeter. We
want to destroy Zionism in this world.
“

3. 5/14/23, 3:45 AM Israel's 3 Stages of Attack | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
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Further, the United Nations’ top nuclear official, Rafael Mariano Grossi, is
warning that Iran has enough enriched nuclear fissile material to build “several”
nuclear weapons.
However, Israel clearly has a military doctrine and plan.
Ever since former Prime Minister Menachem Begin ordered the strike on Iraq’s
Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, Israel’s policy of preemption against existential
threats against it has been clear. In 2007, Israel similarly attacked Syria’s nuclear
reactor in Deir ez-Zor.
Recently, in January 2023, the U.S. and Israel conducted massive joint military
exercises, Juniper Oak 23, as a clear warning to Iran that they would not be
allowed to get nuclear weapons and that they were prepared to act.
Israel knows that if they are forced to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities, Iran will
retaliate with long-range missiles as well as using their terrorist proxies, Hamas
and Islamic Jihad in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In my understanding, Israel is prepared to counter Iran’s missiles with its
comprehensive three-tier missile shield of Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow-2,
and Arrow-3. However, if the Iranian-sponsored terrorists in Gaza and Lebanon
are activated, Israel risks being pummeled simultaneously with missile barrages
from three directions.
Therefore, it only makes sense as a strategy for Israel to not only preemptively
attack but also incrementally dismantle Iran and its terrorist weapons buildup
in the following three distinct stages:
Stage 1—Hamas/Islamic Jihad: Currently, Israel is conducting Operation
Shield and Arrow in Gaza. While the terrorists have exhausted themselves with
the launching of over 1,100 missiles at Israel and thank G-d, mostly to no
significant effect, Israel took out three “kingpin terrorists” from Islamic Jihad in

4. 5/14/23, 3:45 AM Israel's 3 Stages of Attack | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
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a masterful strike on May 8 and followed with additional decapitation strikes on
their leadership in the days that followed.
Stage 2—Hezbollah: With Hezbollah having amassed around 150,000 missiles,
Israel will need to clear the field of these weapons before they can be used
against them. It remains to be seen how Israel will destroy the countless stores
of these deadly weapons cowardly hidden behind human shields in houses,
schools, hospitals, and mosques. However, Israel cannot allow Hezbollah to
ruthlessly bombard its population centers and vital infrastructure.
Stage 3—Iran’s Nukes: The Mossad and IDF have for decades been working to
sabotage Iran’s diabolical plot to destroy it. From Stuxnet, the first known cyber
weapon used in 2010, to Israel stealing Iran’s nuclear archive in 2018 and the
assassination of Iran’s lead nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, by a killer
robot in 2021, Israel has tried to thwart Iran’s existential threat buildup.
However, as Iran is nearing a nuclear breakout, there will be no alternative but
for Prime Minister Netanyahu to act and order the bombing of Iran’s nuclear
facilities.
Hashem is in charge, and we are his unapologetic warriors.
No one knows exactly what will happen between Israel and Iran. However, we
look to the Almighty for his ultimate and continuous redemption of our people.
With this in mind, I hope and pray that the Ayatollah will reverse course.
Jews learned from 2,000 years of relentless persecution in exile that we must
defend ourselves. In the last 125 years, the Zionist movement has evolved to the
point where the downtrodden Jews who were homeless, hunted, and massacred
are virtually no more. After 6,000,000 of us Jews were murdered in the
Holocaust (of which the hateful Ayatollah is an ardent denier), and with the
reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1948, there is a “new Jew in town” that
relentlessly strives to be independent, bold, creative, and strong.

5. 5/14/23, 3:45 AM Israel's 3 Stages of Attack | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israels-3-stages-of-attack/ 5/5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Blumenthal is a dynamic, award-winning leader who writes frequently about Jewish life,
culture, and security. All opinions are his own.
As we are maneuvering closer to the finish line with Iran, we must maintain our
ultimate faith in the “Rock of Israel,” as well as continue to be dedicated to
defending our people, land, and religion. Of course, if the Ayatollah doesn’t
change course towards peace, then I am confident that, as history is our guide,
he and his clerics will end up no better than Haman and his 10 sons. May
Hashem help us.
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