War

FIRST PERSON

- ALEX MAGNO

Fasten your seat belts. The consequences could be jarring. Early yesterday, Israel launched massive strikes against Iran. In the first round of strikes, Israel killed General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The successive wave of attacks appears to be targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, including the main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz that is described as "the heart of Iran's ballistics missile program."

In the first few hours since the attacks began, oil prices spiked eight percent. The spike could continue as the scale of this battle rises. The whole world will have to accept costs for this conflagration.

There were signs this massive attack was forthcoming.

Last Wednesday, the US ordered the removal of all non-essential diplomatic personnel from the Middle East. That was a clear sign something big was afoot.

On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency declared Iran was not complying with its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. The country had enough enriched uranium (close to weapons grade) that would enable them to build 10 bombs in less than a year.

For Israel, this is a glaring red line. Iran possessing nuclear weapons is an existential threat to the Jewish state. Remember that the radical Islamist regime ruling the country has the destruction of Israel at the top of its agenda.