In today’s episode, Tony Perkins navigates the intricate web of international relations as the U.S. and Israel confront Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Featuring discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and North Carolina Congressman Pat Harrigan, the conversation explores the viability of regime change in Iran and reflects on historical lessons from U.S. military interventions. Additionally, listeners are presented with a grounding perspective on national security concerns, including the implication of Iranian terrorist activities within the U.S., ensuring a riveting and informative listen that challenges conventional narratives.
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From the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview, Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
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This was a complex and high-risk mission carried out with exceptional skill and discipline by our joint force. Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.
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That was Air Force General Dan Cain, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussing Operation Midnight Hammer, U.S. targeted strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Welcome to this June 23rd edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host, Tony Perkins. Thanks for tuning in. Coming up on today’s program, how complex was the U.S. mission to neutralize Iran’s nuclear capabilities? We’ll be joined by retired Air Force General Rob Spalding, a former B-2 stealth bomber pilot and vice wing commander, for insight into the operation’s execution. And yesterday, Iran warned it reserved the right to retaliate against the U.S.
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Even though Iran reserves its full and legitimate right under international law to defend itself against this blatant U.S. aggression and its Israeli proxy, the timing, nature, and scale of Iran’s proportionate response will be decided by its armed forces.
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That was Iranian Ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeed Irvani. Earlier today, Iran followed through, launching both short and mid-range ballistic missiles at the US’s largest air base in the Middle East, located in Qatar. But retaliation may not be limited to overseas. The Department of Homeland Security is sounding the alarm. Over 1,500 Iranians were apprehended entering the U.S. illegally during the Biden administration, with almost half of those being released into the U.S. Officials are concerned these illegals could be part of Iranian terror cells here in the U.S. We’ll talk with North Carolina Congressman Pat Harrigan in just a moment.
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History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world’s most dangerous regime the world’s most dangerous weapons. His leadership today has created a pivot of history that can help lead the Middle East and beyond to a future of prosperity and peace.
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That was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the Israeli people following the U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. We’ll get an on the ground report from CBN Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell from Jerusalem a little later in the program. But before I bring in our first guest, let me remind you that Washington Watch is made possible by people like you who support the work of Family Research Council. This program receives no government funding, only contributions from listeners like you. And right now, through June the 30th, your gift will have double the impact thanks to a $1.5 million challenge match by some generous supporters that want to see the work of Family Research Council continue. Now, this limited time opportunity is available only this week. So to double your contribution and to partner with us, simply text the word FAMILY to 67742. That’s FAMILY to 67742. And support the work of Family Research Council. Following US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, President Trump indicated that he is open to the idea of regime change in Iran. However, many members of his cabinet have since clarified that this is not the goal of the strikes. Still, is regime change in Iran possible? And what are the likeliest results from these strikes? May we see escalation as we’ve seen earlier today? We’re here to discuss this and more. Congressman Pat Harrigan, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee. He also serves as a member of the U.S., also served as a member of the U.S. military, deployed as platoon leader in Afghanistan. He represents the 10th Congressional District of North Carolina. Congressman Harrigan, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 10 :
Tony, always great to be with you. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 12 :
So your response to the weekend strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities?
SPEAKER 10 :
I’d say, wow, what a turn of events, right? I mean, a week and a half ago, we thought Iran was going to come to a nuclear deal. They obviously had no intention of doing that. President Trump gives an ultimatum after Israel decides to come in and attack and kind of shift the thought paradigm of Iranian leadership. They just completely push that off to the side, don’t take any single diplomatic off ramp, and then President Trump makes the bold move over the weekend of deciding to just remove their nuclear chip from the table. and completely change the nature of the discussions. Obviously, Iran retaliated, but that retaliation was very much scripted, as I think we all know at this point. And now they are looking at taking the diplomatic off ramp. You know, America is just in an incredibly strong position right now. Israel’s in a strong position. Iran is obviously in a very weak position. Putin’s got his head on his desk, and Xi’s probably got his hands up wondering what on earth he can possibly do. But right now, this is a huge win in the direction of the good guys, and that’s exactly what we needed in this country.
SPEAKER 12 :
You mentioned a diplomatic off-ramp. What’s that look like?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I think Iran said that they want to come to the table today. And why wouldn’t they? They have no other cards that they can possibly hold here other than just get completely blown into oblivion by Israel, picked apart and systematically taken out of power. And that’s fundamentally what Israel has the capability to do. That’s what they’ve been doing over the last week and a half. At this point, the Iranian regime is looking at the strengths that they have to bring to the negotiating table, and they really don’t have any. And so I think they’re looking at an existential crisis with their continued existence in power, or they’re going to fall on their sword and die on the hill. And I don’t think that they’re going to want to do that. And so I imagine that Iran and the negotiations that will play out over the next several weeks should be fruitful for our side.
SPEAKER 12 :
In that it’ll be fruitful for them, I think, in that it could spare their regime, I think, a little more time and we could see the toppling of that regime, could we not?
SPEAKER 10 :
It’s very possible. I mean, the terms regime change have been thrown around over the last week and a half. But I will tell you, there’s two different types of regime change. There’s one that I’d be completely for, and there’s one that I’m 100% totally against. The type that comes from an internal upwelling within a population that says, we’re done with these guys. The last 50 years of sponsoring terrorism and oppression and being behind this incredibly militant form of Islam, we’re done with that. Obviously that would be fantastic. But the other type of regime change where we effectuate that regime change, if we have not learned anything from the last 25 years of the global war on terror, the color revolutions that we’ve sponsored, any of the interventions that we’ve had in the Middle East is that forced regime change just does not work. And oftentimes the devil that we don’t know ends up being a lot worse than the devil that we do know. And so keeping a very narrowly tailored focus on what our key strategic objectives are with respect to Iran is absolutely key and paramount. President Trump has kept that in focus from the very first day that this kicked off, going all the way back to before when he gave Iran 60 days to come to the table and make a deal. And I expect that he’ll continue to keep it in focus. He will absolutely put America first, and we’re gonna start seeing the benefits of that absolutely fantastic decision-making that our president has, and leadership that our president has shown.
SPEAKER 12 :
Pat, I would agree with you. I think that’s well stated. An internal uprising that would replace that regime has staying power, and it’s more likely to bring in something that’s reflective of the people. And it has to be ripe. I think we may be at that point. It’s different than what we’ve seen even in Syria. That regime change was a little more forced from the outside. I think we could see something from the inside. But I want to ask you this question, Congressman. You mentioned Putin. You mentioned Xi. Russia is reaching out, having conversations with Iran. Could they play a factor in the resolution here or whatever the outcome may be?
SPEAKER 10 :
I personally never took seriously Putin’s offer to help negotiate some sort of de-escalation between Iran and Israel and the United States. I don’t think that that was ever real. I think Putin and Xi very much have their hands up in the air right now. This is a five alarm fire for them. They are witnessing the strategic weakness of one of their greatest allies in the new axis of evil. And so, no, this is a significant emotional event for both Russia and China. It significantly complicates their desire to perpetuate chaos around the globe that ultimately degrades everything that we believe and stand for in the West. And this is not a good development for them, which means it’s a great development for us.
SPEAKER 12 :
You didn’t mention Kim Jong-un, leader of North Korea. He’s got to be considering his moves at this point, does he not? Well, he seems to move as part of a block.
SPEAKER 10 :
And I think very much, if he’s paying attention, he finds himself in a very similar position to Iran, isolated, held out to dry. I mean, really, where was Russia and China when Iran needed them most? They weren’t there. And I think that’s very telling about what type of alliances on the other side of our ally base. It is a fractured one. It is one that is regionally capable, but not globally capable. And I think that these would be wise notes for Kim Jong-un to take as he decides what his next steps are moving forward.
SPEAKER 12 :
let’s pivot now former special forces you fought these these terrorists on foreign soil there’s concern alarms being raised by homeland security that during the bite administration you know at least 1500 were apprehended at the border iranians trying to come into the country we don’t know how many got through undetected but half of those 1500 were released into the country is there concern of potentially Iranian terrorist cells operating in the U.S.?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, there’s absolute concern. And I think that you’ve got to look not just at the known Iranians that came across the border. You have to look at all the known gotaways that occurred during the Biden administration. You got to understand there was 1.5 million known gotaways. That’s the government number. Some estimates say that that number really should be more like 2 million. But let me put this into perspective for you. During President Biden’s tenure, we had a wide open southern border policy. That means if you showed up at a port of entry and you wanted to claim economic asylum, you wanted to claim political asylum, whatever you wanted, you were going to get released into this country. So think about what it means when the border patrol chases you down, not at a known port of entry, And you are actively running away from them when you know that if you get apprehended by them, you’re just going to get released into the United States of America. Put that into perspective. What does it mean to the intent of those 1.5 to 2 million individuals that are running around our country right now? They are absolutely up to no good. How many of them are affiliated with Iran or any of their proxies is an unknown number. It is a huge strategic risk for the United States of America right now, which is why President Trump’s policies of getting illegal aliens out of this country is so important.
SPEAKER 12 :
Pat, we just have about a minute left. Let me just tell me if I’m right or wrong. When we see how quickly over the last year that Iran has basically their bluster has been the curtain has been pulled back on their capabilities. I would say their terrorist activity is more of a threat than what we’ve seen them in terms of their national security and their capabilities.
SPEAKER 10 :
I wouldn’t disagree on the surface, Tony, but I always think that we should have great respect for the capabilities of our adversaries. One of the worst things that you can do is underestimate the capabilities of your adversaries. And I don’t think that we should do that in this point in time. I think that keeps us very level-headed and even keel. It prevents us from getting prideful about the successes that we have had, and it lets us focus on the vulnerabilities that we need to address in order to provide for the safety of the American people.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, Pat, thanks so much for joining us. Always great to see you.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thanks for having me, Tony.
SPEAKER 12 :
Pat Harrigan from North Carolina. All right, when we come back, we’re actually going to talk about the details of the significance of this strike with a retired B-2 bomber pilot. So don’t go away. We’re back after this.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for tuning in on this Monday. All right. The U.S.’ ‘s targeted strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities has been hailed by President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth as a huge success. Information from the Trump administration suggests the strike not only hit its target, but also retained the element of surprise during the operation. So here to discuss the strategic aspects of this strike is retired Air Force Brigadier General Robert Spalding. He flew B-2 stealth bombers and served as the vice wing commander of the squadron. General Spalding, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. Thanks. Great to be on the show. So General Kane, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the mission as complex and high risk. Can you walk us through it?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, we’ve been training for this for over 10 years. You know, there’s a tremendous amount of operations, maintenance, logistics that goes into it. Over 30 hours in the air, six or seven air refueling. So it’s very complex. You have all kinds of support aircraft. But that being said, this is our business, what we train to do. And, you know, it’s executed flawlessly.
SPEAKER 12 :
What effect do you believe that, I mean, we’re still waiting for the reports in terms of the damage done to the nuclear facilities. The early indications are it was successful. What do you think this will do in terms of setting back the nuclear ambitions of Iran?
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, assuming our intelligence was correct, and I believe it was, the centrifuges at Fordow have been destroyed, which means that even though they have 60% enriched uranium, essentially they can’t get to highly enriched uranium that they could use for a nuclear weapon. So I think we’ve stopped them at 60%, which means that essentially they can’t create a bomb.
SPEAKER 12 :
Now, the Pentagon says the strike was carried out without any known detection from Iran. Walk us through that process, how you would think they could just take off, but there was a lot of stealth involved in flying these stealth bombers.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, it’s operational security, making sure that you don’t tip your hat with any of the things that you’re doing at the base to let the adversary know what’s going on. There’s so much collection now because of smartphones, which track all your data. So it’s really complex and complicated in terms of creating that diversion, but I think they handle it flawlessly.
SPEAKER 12 :
President Trump has characterized the strike as a defensive action. That’s garnered some criticism. How great do you think the threat that Iran posed to the U.S. based upon what you know?
SPEAKER 14 :
Oh, it’s incredible. You know, they have not only the intent, but soon we’re going to have the capability to kill a lot more Americans than they’ve already killed. You know, we talk about if we strike their nuclear facilities that they may attack us. They’ve been attacking us. They’ve been killing Americans. We know this. And they’ve been doing it either directly or through their proxies. And so it’s not something that we have to imagine. If they had a bomb, You know, they have threatened to use it against both Israel and America.
SPEAKER 12 :
Now, their proxies, as you mentioned, have been degraded significantly over the last year since October the 7th and their engagement with Israel. What capacity do we know that Iran still retains to strike back at the U.S.? We saw the short and mid-range missile attack today. What other capacities do they still have?
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, they still have missiles, but as you saw today, they let the Qataris, and it sounds like us, know that they were going to launch a strike. So what they wanted to do was look bold and strong in front of their population, but ultimately they gave pre-warning so that their launches would be ineffective. You know, that’s pretty much all they have now, and even that is not effective because of Iron Dome and the Patriot batteries that we have, you know, around our facilities in the region. So I think, you know, they’re going to be limited in terms of what they can do damage-wise. Now, they could create terrorist attacks here in the United States. That’s not an existential threat, but certainly something we should be concerned about.
SPEAKER 12 :
I was just talking with Congressman Pat Harrington about – about that, that we have reports from Homeland Security that over 700 Iranians who were detained at the border were released into the United States during the Biden administration. In some ways, they’re very effective at terrorist activity, more so, I would think, than fighting a head-to-head war with the United States.
SPEAKER 14 :
Right. And that’s what makes nuclear weapons so dangerous in the hands of the Iranians. You know, they’ve shown a proclivity to use whatever they can to kill Israelis and Americans. And quite frankly, having them have a weapon like that means that, you know, it could literally be used at any time. And so I think that was a danger the president was unwilling to allow to continue.
SPEAKER 12 :
Any concern as Russia has apparently alluded to providing support to Iran, might they give them weapons that they could use?
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, you know, again, we go back to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is essentially what the Russians were doing, or Soviets at the time, sending nuclear weapons into Cuba. And that ended up in a standoff when Kennedy was president. And so I think the Russians know very well that giving nuclear weapons to the Iranians would be tantamount, particularly if they got used, to inviting nuclear war on Russia itself, which it does not want.
SPEAKER 12 :
What other installations of the US overseas could be at risk?
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, I think any installation can be at risk for a terrorist attack. And, you know, as you know, many Iranians came across our southern border, but there’s also Iranians throughout Europe. You know, we have a base in Turkey. We have bases all over the Middle East. So, you know, I think really there’s no place on earth right now that we can’t let our guard down for Iranian-backed terrorists to try and attack us.
SPEAKER 12 :
General, we just have about 30 seconds left, but ultimately, is it going to require a regime change to remove this threat?
SPEAKER 14 :
I don’t think so. The regime, whether it changes or not, I think the important thing here is we want to take away the capability to do massive harm, and that’s what nuclear weapons can do. And I think the president did exactly that.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, General Spalding, thanks so much for joining us today. Appreciate your insights. Absolutely. All right. In addition to striking U.S. military establishments in the Middle East, Iran has threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz. Why is that important? We’re going to talk about that next with Washington Stan’s Mark Tapsco. So don’t go away. More Washington Watch straight ahead.
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SPEAKER 12 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. One way that Iran could possibly retaliate for American strikes on three of its nuclear sites, analysts say, would be to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for oil and gas. If they did, it would not be the first time. Washington Stan Senior Congressional Analyst Mark Tapscott joins me now. Mark, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining me. Good to be here, Tony. All right. Not only are you our congressional analyst, but since you’ve been around a while, you’re going to be our historian, too. Let’s talk about this, because back in 1988, we saw something similar.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, indeed. Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, and they also took some military actions to threaten our transports through the area, oil transports and our military ships. President Reagan didn’t put up with that. His response basically was to virtually put the Iranian Navy back into port, sank several of their ships and inflicted a pretty serious attack on them, injuries on them. You would think they would remember that, but we are dealing with the Iranians, so probably not.
SPEAKER 12 :
So the Strait of Hormuz, this is a critical waterway. About almost a quarter of the world’s oil moves through that region. So we’re already seeing fluctuation in gas prices, oil prices, which obviously will filter its way down to gas prices as well. How significant of a threat do you really think this is on behalf of the Iranians?
SPEAKER 07 :
To be honest, I don’t think it’s that serious. I think it’s primarily rhetorical boasting, if you will. One of the key facts about the Straits of Hormuz, yes, the world relies on oil and liquefied natural gas coming through the Straits. But 80% of what Iran ships is in the way of its oil and liquefied natural gas goes through the straits. So they effectively would be shutting themselves off from one of their most profitable markets. So I really don’t think they’re going to do that.
SPEAKER 12 :
The regime really, I think, is is against the ropes. You know, they’re now very much they want to have a we’re talking earlier with Congressman Pat Harrigan that they’re looking for a diplomatic off ramp. I think that’s the only way they could possibly save the regime. I think any other confrontations with the direct confrontations with the United States could very well be the end of the regime.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, Tony, one of the things that I think we should bear in mind anytime we’re dealing with the Iranians, we shouldn’t assume that they are as logical and rational about these things as we are. um you know they do have we don’t know how many but we can be pretty certain as congressman uh aragon was just saying and i think general spalding did as well some number of sleeper terrorist cells in this country and elsewhere around the world that could threaten our interest pretty much anywhere they decide to do it and Once these folks get on the point of, hey, what have we got to lose now? We’re going to be kicked out of here anyway. That’s when I think we should really fear. what they could do with these terrorist cells. I remember very distinctly in 2023, one of those Iranians that was released into the U.S., looking into the camera and saying, you don’t know my name now, but you will. That guy is probably still here.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah. I mean, that is, I think, that was a point I was making earlier with Congressman Harrigan. And I think the greater threat for them is their terrorist activity. In fact, I think what gave them the sense of strength were their proxies. I think once we got beyond, not we, but Israel got beyond their proxies, we saw how weak they really were. And I think terrorism is their strength. That’s their strong suit. Absolutely. And so I do think that it is a threat, you know, having worked in the anti-terrorist field when I came out of the Marine Corps, you know, 35 years ago, a little different times back then. But nonetheless, the Islamic terrorism really hasn’t changed. that said there’s not the the terrorism is more of a a front to protect the mothership there’s really nothing left of the mothership to protect um i i would i’m in favor of regime change led by the iranian people not not the us uh not israel but the iranian people to throw off this repressive regime and i think plant a flag of uh You know, I don’t know if we can get to democracy, but let the people choose over there. Let them do it. I don’t think we should be into the nation-building phase that we tried before. Not we, but the Bush administration tried in Afghanistan. That was an absolute failure.
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. You know, I think one of the biggest mistakes President Obama made in the foreign policy area was – ignoring the green revolution in iran in 2009 yeah right because it was very clear there was a strong popular uprising that could have affected some big changes right as i was talking earlier in the program when it comes from within when it’s a uh um indigenous um
SPEAKER 12 :
move. It has staying power. And it’s not fake. It’s real. And it can bring the changes that are needed to remove this regime. Mark, out of time. Thanks for joining us. Always appreciate the insights. All right, folks, when we come back, we’re going to go to Jerusalem, and we’re going to talk with the CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief, our good friend Chris Mitchell, who’s on the ground there in Israel. So we’re going to talk about what’s happening there and how they’re responding to this weekend’s attack by the U.S. on Iran. So don’t go away.
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How should Christians think about the thorny issues shaping our culture? How should Christians address deceitful ideas like transgenderism, critical theory, or assisted suicide? How can Christians navigate raising children in a broken culture, the war on gender roles, or rebuilding our once great nation? Outstanding is a podcast from The Washington Stand dedicated to these critical conversations. Outstanding seeks to tear down what our corrupt culture lifts up with an aim to take every thought and every idea captive to the obedience of Christ. Whether policies or partisan politics, whether conflict in America or conflict abroad, join us and our guests as we examine the headlines through the lens of Scripture and explore how Christians can faithfully exalt Christ in all of life. Follow Outstanding on your favorite podcast app and look for new episodes each week.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for tuning in. All right. Tomorrow, June the 24th, marks the third anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. All right. But the fight for life, frankly, is far from over. Today, the most common method of abortion in America is chemical abortion, the abortion pill, ending innocent lives and endangering the health of women in the process. Under Biden-era policies, all safety protocols for the abortion pills were removed, allowing these drugs to be shipped by mail, even into states with pro-life laws. Now, this effectively nullifies those pro-life laws. While the Trump administration could reinstate the safeguards, they have thus far chosen not to do so. And that’s why we’re calling on believers across the country to unite tomorrow in prayer and fasting for the unborn. That America would have pro-life laws and what the court gave elected officials and the people the right to do to establish pro-life laws would happen. So join us for Lift Up Life, a national day of prayer and fasting. We’re actually going to have a special prayer event with various pastors and pro-life leaders lifting up this urgent need before the Lord. That’s at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. You can join us in the Stand Firm app, or you can go online to liftuplifeday.com. That’s liftuplifeday.com, or better yet, just text PRAY. P-R-A-Y, pray to 67742 at 67742, and I’ll send you a link. Our word for today comes from Matthew 19. Then little children were brought to him that he might put his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, let the little children come to me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. So how do we forbid children from coming to Jesus today? Well, consider this. 60 years ago, prayer and the Bible were removed from public schools. The court claimed young children were too impressionable and needed to be shielded from spiritual influence. But what filled that vacuum? Instead of being taught they were uniquely created by God in His image, children are now indoctrinated with radical ideologies, like the false notion that gender is a personal choice, detached from biology, reason, and design. Jesus had strong words about leading children astray. Just one chapter earlier, he said this, whoever calls is one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. That’s quite the warning. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text Bible to 67742, Bible to 67742. All right, President Trump spoke to the nation on Saturday night.
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Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.
SPEAKER 12 :
The U.S. is decisive strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend brought the U.S. into direct military action against Iran and potentially into a wider war with the Islamic Republic and its proxies. And while the U.S. warned Iran not to respond, it has done so. Earlier today, Iran retaliated by striking U.S. bases in Qatar and Iraq. Iran has continued to fire missiles into Israel as well over the weekend, inflicting more damage. Here to discuss this and more, Chris Mitchell, the Middle East Bureau Chief with our friends at CBN News. Chris, welcome back to Washington Watch. And as always, thanks for staying up late and joining us.
SPEAKER 08 :
Great to be with you again, Tony.
SPEAKER 12 :
So how has the Israeli government and the Israeli people reacted to America’s strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities?
SPEAKER 08 :
Tony, I would say it would be a great sense of relief and gratefulness that the US has come in with Israel to attack Iran, this major, the leading state sponsor of terror in the world and the nemesis to Israel for decades. So I think great relief, thankfulness, and that the US is helping them hit probably the one nuclear site called Fordow. They were buried under a mountain in Iran that Israel, despite its major military successes, was probably unable to hit because it needed what they call a massive ordnance penetrator. A 15-ton bomb, a bunker-busting bomb. So very, very thankful, very grateful, Tony, that the U.S. has joined Israel in its fight against Iran.
SPEAKER 12 :
Now, Israel has kept up its attacks even since the bombing of those nuclear facilities by the U.S. They’ve been going after a different set of targets. Not only they have continued to hit, I think, the entrances to some of those nuclear facilities, but they’ve also gone after some of the institutions that are linked to this notorious regime. For instance, they’ve been hitting one of the prisons where political prisoners are being held. They’ve been going after the morality police, those who have been repressing and suppressing the people. What’s going on?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, these are immense political targets that the IDF is going after. And it represents, I think, some people believe it’s almost as important to what the U.S. did on Saturday by bombing Fordow. What it is, it’s hitting, as you said, the Evin prison, the notorious prison where thousands of political prisoners have been tortured and persecuted, sometimes executed throughout the years. They’ve targeted the Bejes. Now, these are the thugs that go out and suppress many of these protests that we’ve seen throughout the year, throughout the years 2009, 2022. They’ve gone off what’s called the destruction clock, the clock that Iran has set up that would finally destroy Israel. I think the year was 2040. So these are significant political targets and they represent it. It appears that the way that the Israel is undermining the regime so that if there is and many people expect there will be a time when the Iranian people will protest that these the infrastructure, the political infrastructure of Iran that has been used to keep the population suppressed and oppressed and intimidated, that these are going to be weakened enough Who knows? It could be that regime change that many people are hoping and praying for. But these targets are very, very important, Tony, to undermine the Islamic regime.
SPEAKER 12 :
Chris, that’s how I see it. I’ve read press reports here in the States that call these symbolic. I think it’s more than symbolic. I think it is undermining the intimidating infrastructure that’s there. You know, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the regime as weak. And he has urged the Iranian people to rise up against it. And it appears that there may be some things on the ground because the Mossad has been operating there in Iran. I’m wondering if there is a so far we’ve seen everything from the air. I’m wondering if there’s anything on the ground there to help encourage a movement by the Iranian people.
SPEAKER 08 :
with all the activity of the Mossad, with people there on the ground, you would have to imagine that there is some sort of plan in progress, communications, relationships that would help foster a possible uprising, possible regime change. I know the saying is that regimes like the Islamic regime are brutal, but they’re brittle. And so maybe this is the time of cracking. We also have had that post on True Social where President Trump said, you know, it’s not politically correct to talk about regime change, but if this regime can’t make Iran great again, what’s the problem with the regime change? Carolyn Levitt kind of explained more about that today. So it seems like it’s this idea of regime change is being more and more accepted. Prime Minister Netanyahu, as you said, now President Trump, even today in Paris, Reza Pahlavi, he’s the son of the late Shah. He’s calling for regime change. Some people see him as a potential, at least interim leader, of if there’s a regime change and going to a democratic Iran. So the fact that the idea of is hitting these targets, they’re real targets, they’re real buildings, real people that really had been used by the regime to keep the population under their heels. They seem to be hitting those targets purposely with the idea of maybe this could change things on the ground.
SPEAKER 12 :
They’ve also been very careful to warn the civilian population when these attacks are coming and to avoid these civilian, potentially civilian targets.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, they have, exactly. And it’s something the IDF does regularly. They’ve done it in Gaza throughout the years. They’ve done it in Lebanon in the recent war with Hezbollah. And now they’re doing it with Iran. They tell people, literally, get out of this, get out of military harm, get out of these targets that we’re going to come against. They literally telegraph to the enemy exactly what they’re going to be doing. On the other hand, Iran has been firing indiscriminately and targeting residential areas here in Israel. Yesterday, I was down in northern Tel Aviv. That’s when one of their Iranian missiles hit a neighborhood there, made significant damage. Thankfully, no fatalities and only about 20 injuries But unlike Israel, that really protects civilians inside Iran, Iran is going out of its way to hit residential buildings, apartment buildings. Sadly, there’s about 30 fatalities here so far. But if you consider what has happened, what could have happened, You know, those fatalities are significantly lower. Some call it miraculous the way that that Israel has suffered so little damage despite the hundreds of missiles that have been fired at it by Iran.
SPEAKER 12 :
Chris, let’s talk about the frequencies of those attacks. Are we seeing a declining number of missiles coming in from Iran?
SPEAKER 08 :
Definitely. There has been, I think, maybe one alarm today, earlier today, I think it was around 930, but nothing since then. But those number of attacks have been going down quite substantially. What’s happening, Tony, is that the idf is targeting the missile launchers and they have more than apparently more than 50 of those launchers have been destroyed by the idf so even if iran has 1 000 2 000 ballistic missiles left in their arsenal it really doesn’t do them any good if they don’t have the launches to go ahead and fire those at Israel. So that is the battle going on, and Israel seems to be tipping the balance to the number of launchers that they’re destroying. And they’re actually moving them eastward, so they’re getting further and further away from Israel. So it’s reducing apparently significantly the number of missile attacks coming here against Israel.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, also, Chris, I think if you look at the precision of the Israeli attacks on these missile sites, missile launchers, do you really want to be driving one of these missile vehicles or do you want to be pushing the button on one of them? I mean, you you’re going to make yourself a target because it appears that Israel has become very good with intelligence and targeting missiles. these launchers.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. And the the intelligence of Israel on the ground since the very beginning of Operation Rising Lion is is just incredible, not only on the missile launchers, the ballistic missiles on the air defense systems, And particularly on the command structure of the IRGC and the Iranian army, you know, the number of senior leaders that have been eliminated is just staggering. It’s very similar to what happened with Hezbollah and Hassan Nasrallah, but even more so, I know, So it must be this intelligence by the Mossad, along with apparently Iranian operatives inside Iran, is just stunning.
SPEAKER 12 :
So we’ve got about three minutes left, and I want to get to kind of a prayer focus before we close. But I want to go back for just a moment to the regime change idea. You know, Syria – We saw that regime fall. And I’d like you to compare the two, because from my perspective, Syria had a little more support from the people than I think Iran, the Iranian regime has from its people.
SPEAKER 08 :
I think so, yeah. The regime changed there. It went actually quite quickly, but they had more support, as you say. Less so here with Iran. It seems like the overwhelming majority of the people despise the regime. They don’t like, they’ve been fed up with this brand of Shiite Islam that they try to export to the world. So it looks like perhaps ripe for, you know, some people call it revolutionary.
SPEAKER 12 :
And I would think so after they’ve literally spent hundreds of billions of dollars into a nuclear program that is now in ashes. And the people in the meantime have been suffering with high inflation, lack of access to resources. I would think they’re a little tired of all this.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, Tony, a historic catastrophe, all the money and the treasure that the Iranian regime has put into its proxies throughout the region to its ballistic missile program, its nuclear program. And it’s all within a few weeks. It’s almost all gone.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, that’s good for the world, the rest of the world, but I think makes Iran ripe for a change of government. All right, we’ve got about just a little less than a minute and a half left. Two things, Chris. How should we be praying? And then secondly, you actually have a podcast on Pray.com with all the latest news from Israel. So give us prayer points and tell us about Pray.com.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, they can go to pray.com slash Chris Mitchell, a weekly podcast on many things that we’ve had you on it, Tony, and many other people like Anne Graham Lotz or other folks, and also an analysis of what’s happening here. In terms of prayer points, I would say pray for the Iranian people. that they could have the freedom that they are longing for. Pray for the underground church that is, believe it or not, one of the fastest growing churches in the world, if not the fastest growing. Many come to faith through dreams and visions. Pray for them and pray for wisdom for President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and so that they can make the wise decisions they need that are literally changing history.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, we’re going to continue to pray for them and pray for all of our friends like you there in Israel for your safety and well-being as well. Chris Mitchell, always great to have you on the program. Thanks for taking time to join us today. Thanks, Tony. So, folks, I do encourage you to pray. We live in a very volatile time. It’s a very… I would have to say exciting time because I believe we’re seeing the words on the pages of scripture come to life. And we need to be vigilant, watchful, and prayerful. So join us in praying. All right, out of time for today. You can join us tomorrow for our prayer event. So text PRAY, that’s P-R-A-Y to 67742. Until next time, just keep standing.
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