Signs of more military action are all around us, as the Knesset voted on Monday to extend the reserve duty call-up under Order 8 until May 31. During this period, it will be possible to mobilize up to 400,000 reserve soldiers. As much as anything, this is a sign that Israel is preparing for war with Iran sometime during this month.
They are being more than just cautious. Given the words and actions by Iran, they are aware that the probability increases each day that there will be more military conflict in the immediate future.
As an example, on Monday, Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesman for Iran’s Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, stated that “even if all the military forces in the world unite, they will not be able to deny Iran its right to control the Strait of Hormuz.” Regarding negotiations with Iran, he said that “there is no clear prospect for a political agreement with the United States,” adding: “Not a single liter of fuel will leave the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s permission.” And Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X: “Our forces are ready to respond to any aggression. Wrong strategy and wrong decisions always lead to wrong results; the whole world has already understood this. We are ready for all options. They will be surprised.”
President Donald Trump said that the Iranian proposal is a “piece of junk” and a “stupid proposal,” that Iran reached agreements with the U.S. and backed out, and that it did not address its attempt to obtain nuclear weapons in its proposals. He went on to say that the ceasefire is dying and “on life support.” Trump also told Fox News that he is considering reviving ‘Operation Sentinel‘ to free ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, and said that this time the operation would expand beyond just escorting vessels. CNN is reporting that Trump is “considering more seriously than in recent weeks” a return to fighting against Iran, and that he has become “less patient” with the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as with the division in Iranian leadership, which he believes prevents them from agreeing to concessions on the nuclear issue.
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said, “The president gave diplomacy a chance and showed restraint even when Iran fired on our ships. The regime cannot try to hold the entire world hostage because of an illegal and unacceptable nuclear program.” Waltz also confirmed that Israel transferred a laser system for missile defense to the United Arab Emirates. At the same time that Waltz was making these statements, the Pentagon confirmed that an American Ohio-class submarine, the largest in the U.S. Navy, had arrived at the Strait of Gibraltar on its way to the Middle East.
Taken in totality, all of this seems to lead to the prediction of either the U.S. and Israel starting to aggressively put more pressure on Iran, or of Iran choosing to start attacking preemptively.
Whether war comes soon, later, or not at all, the people of Israel and the U.S. need to come together in the realization of the existential dangers that Iran presents under its Islamic regime. This is not a war against Israel, nor the United States; it is a war against Western Civilization from a totalitarian regime committed to the creation of a worldwide Caliphate of Sharia law.
In a recent dialogue I had with Professor Alan Dershowitz, the professor emphatically kept pointing out how ALL of us need in these challenging times to remember and live by the famous words of Rabbi Hillel, a Sage from the 1st century B.C.: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”
Chazak u’Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
May 12, 2026
25th of Iyyar, 5786
40th day of the Omer
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
