'Very Surprised' If US Not Connected to Iran Strikes, Says Fmr. Defense Secretary

Chuck Hagel, former Secretary of Defense under Obama, talks the ongoing strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and Iran's retaliation on Israel. Hagel says that despite the administration's separation from the strikes, he would be surprised if US intelligence was not connected to attacks.

Benjamin Netanyahu has said for three decades that the central threat to Israel’s existence is Iran’s nuclear program. At least twice over that period, he came within inches of carrying out an attack on it.

Now, at age 75, the Israeli premier has launched the biggest strike on Iran in his country’s history. It’s an operation of enormous risk and promise that will define the legacy of Israel’s longest-serving leader — and upend the Mideast.

n a speech to the nation Friday evening, Netanyahu said he ordered preparations for the assault back in November. But the audacious attack was the result of a confluence of factors dating back years.

Hamas’ deadly 2023 attack forced a rethinking of how Israel defends itself and allowed its military to decimate threats from Iranian proxies like Hezbollah. After years of efforts, Israeli intelligence had penetrated Iran so deeply it could strike its protected nuclear program from inside the country. A supportive US president and a hawkish circle in the Israeli leadership made it possible for Netanyahu, his own popularity tarnished, to make the move he’d avoided for so long.

A day after the first wave of attacks — hundreds of warplanes hit hundreds of sites 1700 km (1000 miles) away — it’s far too early to assess how this new war will develop and whether it will expand beyond Iran and Israel.

But initial reports have led Israeli commentators to argue that the operation is so far a success: a dozen top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists killed, a major nuclear site badly damaged and Iran’s capacity to retaliate curbed. Late Friday, Israel said it had hit another nuclear installation, this time in Isfahan.

Shortly afterward, Iran launched missiles at Israel and residents were ordered to shelters. Authorities reported several people were injured by the attacks in the central part of the country. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed to “act forcefully” and avenge the Israeli strikes. That retaliation is expected both directly and indirectly, and Israel’s assault is due to last days or weeks.

While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday’s attacks have derailed diplomacy, officials in the region are still pushing for a deescalation.

In a phone call with Araghchi, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan called for “the highest degrees of self-restraint” to prevent the circle of the conflict from widening. And Oman said its foreign minister is in contact with relevant countries to contain the “tensions and the dangerous military escalation in the region caused by Israel’s direct attacks on Iran,” according to the state-run news agency.

Meanwhile, with the Group of Seven leaders gathering in the Canadian Rockies, the attention will focus on US President Donald Trump’s reaction. Going into the summit, there was a common desire to keep fraught geopolitical issues off the table, but that will be difficult given the knock-on effects of a spike in oil prices on inflation and energy exports.

The region is a big crossroads for shipping of oil and consumer goods, and any all-out war will further strain a global trading system disrupted by the trade tensions.

Trump gave brief phone interviews to a smattering of journalists, particularly those from cable news networks, but otherwise didn’t take to the cameras to make public remarks. He warned Iran on social media to make a deal “before it is too late.”

On Saturday, Trump’s 79th birthday, he’s scheduled to host a military parade ostensibly to celebrate the US Army’s 250th year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump spoke by phone Friday to discuss the conflict, according to a White House official.

The US has said it didn’t play a role in Israel’s initial strikes, and warned Iran against retaliation on American service members.

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