How Hizballah played a role in Iran’s retaliation, with Jon Elmer

and I want to just show you a couple things from Hezbollah um if we look at number five here Hezbollah released this video this week of a of their iranian-made cornet anti-tank guided missile hitting uh Israeli uh signals Tower here um and this is part of this war and on Saturday night um we saw the way that these systems integrate for Israel and are critical to Israel's defense um and so we've seen a lot of these Towers get hit throughout the war and this is hasbalah preparing the landscape for these wars a lot of times you hear um this is just a tower um but as Nella pointed out these are not just Towers this is the network connectivity that Israel uses for um for its military these targets are degrading Israel's capacity um to carry out um to escalate the War uh with Hezbollah so we've seen that since October the 8th there's been more than 1300 Hezbollah attacks since October the 8th um they carry out about 15 a day between 8 and 15 a day um every single day um across the whole border um in Lebanon um let's look at number six tomorrow because this is the um this was yesterday this is uh footage from um from South uh footage from South Lebanon of a [Music] I left the audio in for that one too so that's uh you could see that's an ababil drone um that Hezbollah is firing and Hezbollah fired this um they said at uh an Israeli Iron Dome a uh air defense platform um yesterday which is the third one that they have targeted um and we we know that the Israelis have at least 10 of these and then the Americans gave them at least two more um but if we look at the next footage there 13c here tomorrow we can see that Hezbollah released this video yesterday of the Iron Dome uh platform um that that first shot just gave you the uh statistics for the Iron Dome which is that it's a $50 million air defense platform each Interceptor that we saw in that footage firing is a $50,000 Interceptor and the launcher carries 20 interceptors this is footage from Saturday night that Hezbollah released yesterday and we weren't sure what hezbollah's role in the operation was which is again if it wasn't a de demonstrative operation by Iran Hezbollah could have carried out a significant attack from uh Lebanon which would have tied up considerable part of Israel's air defenses so we're seeing here on the screen you can see the launches um from the Iron Dome on Saturday night and has is tracking the launch they have got this uh Iron Dome unit under surveillance um you can see it launching uh interceptors and then we see in this footage it's it's dark footage but you can see it being struck there twice um and then if you look if you keep looking at that Circle um you'll see the um this the system apparently exploding um so Hezbollah is able to hit um these iron systems and knock them out which is also a development um that we haven't seen before on this level um knocking out this system you can see here the Rockets outgoing Rockets uh in the missile interceptors being fired um and this is something that the Israelis are trying to get more of from the Americans is more of these interceptors and the Drone footage that we just saw before this from Hezbollah there was no air raid siren on that drone the Drone flies low to the ground it's fi glass it doesn't have a heat signature um and so it evades this radar um and is able to hit these Iron Dome platforms the Israelis admitted from that drone we saw in the previous shot um three casualties at the Iron Dome platform because these platforms are manned platforms um they are involve a radar station a command and control vehicle um and then the WarHeads themselves and so Hezbollah is able to Target these iron domes um on Saturday night which is something we didn't know we didn't have confirmation of until um late last night when hasala released this video so many many elements to this operation Iranian operation that we don't know about yet and we'll maybe learn in the future but what we do know um so far about it um is is a remarkable development an unprecedented development um and something that's put Israel in a bit of a strategic bind about how to respond um when the capabilities of Iran are on display in the way that they were um and as we talked about on the Sunday show so if people didn't see uh our live stream with Muhammad mirandi uh I really suggest you check that out because we went uh in depth with him on this uh Iranian uh missile attack so that is the resistance report from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip from the West Bank uh from Hezbollah in Lebanon and from Iran so it was a busy week um a lot of information uh a lot of videos to try to sort through because there was a lot both sides uh put out videos that um weren't actually uh from there was a lot there as there always is they always sneak in some Russian uh footage uh uh the Israelis snuck in some Russian footage and said that it was uh um Iranian footage so yeah it's a it was a lot Ally you're right to back it's been quite a week a lot going on a lot thank you so much joh yeah and and thank you for breaking it down because even for someone like me who follows this stuff closely it it's it's really a lot and as you say there's misinformation coming from all directions mostly in my opinion from the direction of Israel and its uh backers and I think Iran was pretty transparent about what it was doing and uh pretty transparent that it was not seeking uh an escalation it was seeking to make a point uh which is to deter Israel and I think that's a really key Point here that the Israelis are on notice that Iran has the ability to strike anywhere in Israel yeah and pretty much it can't be stopped now the question though is just in the last few minutes as we've been uh live Netanyahu has come out and he said that basically because there's been a parade of foreign ministers the German the British David Cameron and an an analina bebok and presumably the Americans have been on the phone and their approach with Israel is oh look look what a good job you did on on Saturday you shot down all those missiles you really showed how smart and capable you are now you don't need to do anything there's no need to retaliate because of course all of these powers that that helped Israel to to uh try to fend off the Iranian attack and failed because the missiles made it to their targets um don't want a full scale War but what netan has said in the last few minutes or the last hour or so is thank you for your your advice we'll make our own decisions so the Iranians seem to be uh sorry the Israelis seem to be intent on doing something what it is is unclear um it's also not clear what capability they have because the Israeli Air Force doesn't really have the range by itself to make it all the way to Iran I was looking back at the uh 1981 uh Israeli air strike on the nuclear reactor in Iraq uh which was almost as far as Iran it was short of the Iranian border but it was almost as far asan on and that uh raid really took the Israeli Air Force to its limit they they had to they don't have an aerial refueling capacity of their own so they would have to rely on allies who are willing to help them to carry out a counter strike on Iran and it's not clear that they that their allies are willing to do that in the 1981 raid from what I read they had to add um additional fuel tanks to their fighter jets which they then dropped uh and they you know they sort of barely made it to Iraq and back uh I think they do also have ballistic missiles as well if I'm if I'm but we've never seen Israel use ballistic missiles if I'm correct they've never used them in any kind of military action so there are technical aspects there but also political and geopolitical as aspects because the uh Iranians have made it very clear that we will respond there have even been Iranian officials saying the the missiles will be flying immediately this time there's not going to be any kind of warning now the political aspect of this is also very interesting because it reminds me of the 1991 Gulf War and people who are old enough will remember that at that time you had the International Coalition so-called Coalition led by the United States to go and um expel Iraqi troops from um from Kuwait which which Saddam Hussein had invaded now this was politically a very uh fragile Coalition let's say or or it was a coalition that depended on Israel not doing anything CRA Israel keeping a low profile for example Syria was in this Coalition um s Syria was in the Coalition if I'm correct the Saudis and others so during that war Iraq fired scud missiles at Israel and this was the first time so the scenes that we saw in the last few days were in a sense not unprecedented they're unprecedented in many people's lifetimes but I remember and I was listening on a shortwave radio at the time that's how how uh long ago this was uh the scud missiles which flew from Iraq and hit Tel Aviv and hit Targets in Israel and that was a major major major thing at the time and the Israelis wanted to retaliate but the Americans told them don't you may not because politically this would be this would break apart our Coalition uh the unity of the Coalition depended on Israel staying out and I think I remember at the time that the Americans even went so far as to deny to the israelies whatever electronic transponder codes they would need to tell friendly from hostile aircraft in other words if the Israelis wanted to fly a raid into Iraq there would be the risk that they would shoot down American airplanes if they didn't have these transponder codes which the George W Bush Administration didn't want to give them so the Americans forced the Israelis not to respond to the scud missiles in 1991 and it strikes me that there's a very similar Dynamic play out here where the the US interest is not to allow Israel to respond at least to temper it as much as possible the difference being that this Administration is you know every us Administration is is extremely pro-israeli but this one seems to be taking it to an extreme and it's unclear if they're willing to put their foot down the last thing I want to say and and I think you alluded to this John the can the idea to me of the Saudi Air Force flying refueling flights for aeroplanes that are defending the Zionist genocide regime as it murders children in Gaza the idea of the Jordanian Air Force defending the Zionist genocide regime there was a report in uh y citing Israeli military sources saying that Israeli aircraft Israeli aircraft were allowed to fly in Jordanian skies in order to try to intercept missiles while none of these Air Forces none of these countries have lifted a finger to stop the genocide in Gaza I think like most people particularly people in the region I am you know just can't get my head around it I can't get my head around it that's shameful yeah Jordan really really uh put themselves out there they really they their position is very very Stark uh on this dropping uh intercepting and sending flaming wreckage all throughout um Jordan in order to defend missiles that people in their own country were cheering for people who are closer to the Target cheering for um so the people on the street didn't believe that they were the target of these strikes um so that Coalition was remarkable and I think that the Americans putting that Coalition together um is part of the give and take with the Israelis saying you can't respond we will we will step up and do this defense of you um but that's it you can't carry out another strike a after that because the principal reason is the Americans are very vulnerable in the Middle East they have troops and bases all over the Middle East um that are well within much much closer than um firing these ballistic missiles at uh at Israel um and so there's actual vulnerability for American forces that has them stepping in um I believe and and saying to the Israelis that this um you know in a way that they Israelis ignore them about Gaza um I'm not sure that it's the same in this circumstance because of the presence of American troops the vulnerability of American troops um and also uh Iran like you said that Iran said they will respond immediately um this this attack was two weeks in the planning the Iranians all but gave them the window of the attack um Israel had full preparation for the attack ahead of time um and there was only like I said it was a 16-minute operation um the the uh there was no second wave there was no third wave um there was no saturation of the air defense system by the ballistic missiles um they could have fired many many times more drones than that um Iran has a major drone program um that has despite sanctions been able to operate and so um Iran was just sending a message without um doing any you know very carefully they very carefully targeted these bases um and and did didn't Target civilian areas didn't do something that would um lead to an escalation but just demonstrated that they could do this and will do this um and so when I was saying unprecedented I was saying from Iran it's the first time from Iran from direct territory um and it's the first time that there's been a missile war on this scale um that was the first sign the first that we've seen of that um and and so I think that uh Iran made its point the Americans were saying saying that they didn't know about the assassination of the kuds force um generals they were saying that the Israelis told them 5 minutes before and the Americans tried to say they were upset about that um it's not clear how much back channeling they did to the Iranians but the Americans were are fine with telling the Washington Post that they told the Iranians um that they didn't we didn't we weren't part of this don't don't hit us don't be mad at us don't Target our tens of thousands of troops and billions of dollars of assets um in the region um so yeah the the escalation ladder it's not clear what the um Israelis can do they lack strategic bombers um they need the Americans for an attack on Iran um and it doesn't appear that the Americans are interested in that kind of World War III escalation so it's remarkable that the Iranians have the Precision to thread the needle uh on not escalating to world World War I and I think um you know I think history will reflect that uh both sides will say that they came out the winners of that I think Biden's quote was take the you know take the W to u to Netanyahu you you defended the attack um will rebuild the missile interceptors um and the Iranians I think clearly demonstrated their capabilities um for the first time that we've saw the Iranians hit uh the American base after the Assassin of kasum suani but this is the first real longdistance test of Iran's nuclear or Iran's missile system um in battle in battle it seems to me like the Israelis May strike I don't know I mean that's that's the feeling I have like there really stri yeah yeah I mean it what the quote you just said John from Biden about or that was you know communicated about telling the Israelis to take the W um as we know from our own experience um even with just Israel lobbyists Israel always refuses to take yes for an answer so who knows who knows but that's the feeling I have at the moment anyway thanks for watching this video please subscribe to our YouTube channel hit like leave a comment these engagements help us with the YouTube algorithm and it helps us to get around Silicon Valley censorship as much as possible it does make a difference you can also support our journalism by going to electronic in.net and clicking on donate now thank you