Shavuah tov, may this week bring us the steps necessary for a long term peace between Israel and her neighbors.
After two weeks of consecutive U.S. attacks on Iran, Saturday night saw a respite for the Islamic regime, as the U.S. did not continue its nightly targeted attacks. This means one of two things:
President Donald Trump is again listening to advisors that are counseling him to negotiate with the Iranian regime. Despite the fact that Pickaxe Mountain and other nuclear sites in Iran are still stable, this pause may be a signal that there will be another long-term ceasefire for “negotiations” to take place. Remember that while we may cease our fire against Iran, the Iranians are daily working on developing more nuclear and ballistic missiles, and this would be an incredibly foolish move… but one that has been done and repeated previously. This is JD Vance’s preferred approach; he has demonstrated in this entire Iranian conflict that he is not prepared to be a true leader in foreign policy. This move has also demonstrated the depth of Vance’s connections with Tucker Carlson (and how much Carlson influences Vance’s behavior).
The other possibility is that this respite is a preparation for a much more massive attack upon Iran. 90 American refueling craft are now in Israel, as are fighter jets, B-2 and B-52 bombers, and a steady flow of aircraft, weapons, and Interceptor missiles. At the invitation of President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaving for Washington, D.C. on Monday. Reports are that he will be showing the president and advisors fresh materials demonstrating Iran’s nuclear and military recovery effort. According to the New York Times, U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly assess that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is more willing than his father and predecessor, the late Ali Khamenei, to pursue nuclear weapons. Officials believe the new leadership is more open to developing advanced nuclear capabilities. Between U.S. intelligence and what the Israelis will bring, it is possible that the U.S. (with Great Britain possibly joining) will launch a much more massive strike in the coming days.
We can see other signs as well that a large attack may be coming. The Italian airline ITA has extended the cancellation of its flights to Israel until Tuesday morning, due to the security situation. And the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued a warning to all Americans of “the potential for unforeseen escalation”; as well as for flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions.
(The New York Times, which has been wrong on pretty much every theory and statement it has posited since October 7, and has consistently been a propaganda arm for anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian/pro-Iran/pro-Mamdani positions, expressed its theory about the pause of American attacks. The Times, based on “anonymous sources,” claims that a major attack is not happening, because of concerns that a broad campaign would dangerously deplete the stockpiles of Patriot interceptors and air defense systems of the U.S. military in the Middle East. Because the Times published this on Saturday afternoon, many outlets are repeating this hypothesis, but it is not based on any actual cited information, and is contradictory to what Hegseth, Rubio, Vance, and Trump have all claimed.)
There is no way to know what the pause in attacks means, or if it is a prelude to more “negotiations” or to an all-out war that involves multiple nations, and could ultimately be the preface to a World War III. For other nations are now stepping into the mess that is starting there in the Gulf.
The Houthis (with Iran’s backing) are attacking Saudi Arabia, and have said that they will be escalating those attacks. Trump has said that Saudi Arabia, if it joins the Abraham Accords, would be able to have civilian nuclear power. Those two factors combined potentially put Saudi Arabia on the side of the United States against Iran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been threatening the United Kingdom that it will become a target if it even allows American forces to pass through its country. Britain has, as a result, started sending weaponry to the Middle East in support of opening the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, representatives of Oman were in Tehran over the last 24 hours, apparently working out a positive relationship between the two oil-producing nations.
On Sunday morning, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian warship and vessels used to transport Iran-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine claimed, “Since the beginning of July, we have recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and U.S. military facilities located there. These images subsequently appear in Iran. At the same time, there is a clear correlation between Russia’s satellite imagery of these sites and Iranian strikes — both before the attacks, in preparation for them, and afterward, to assess the damage inflicted. On July 19 and 20 alone, four air bases fell within the area of interest of Russian satellites — two in Bahrain, one in Jordan, and one in Kuwait.”
The longer this conflict continues, the more dangerous it becomes for the world, both because Iran is working daily on developing nuclear weapons, and because other nations are starting to take sides. The U.S./Israel/United Kingdom/Saudi Arabia/Ukraine seem to be facing off against Iran/Oman/the Houthis/Hezbollah/Russia. And unlike previous conflicts between nations that were held in control because of the concern of mutually assured destruction, and the reality that no Western nation ever wanted that, this is very different. Islamic theology is not only unconcerned with mutually assured destruction; it embraces the idea as part of its religious obligation of creating a worldwide caliphate.
Given the realities of the situation, the entire conflict must be ended as quickly as possible, with a long-term result of Iran having no access to nuclear weapons. The Memo of Understanding negotiated by Vance was worse and more dangerous than anything that Neville Chamberlain did with the Nazis. It has given months to the Iranian regime to re-arm, develop more weapons, and create new, more effective ways of using its drones and missiles in combination with each other to bypass defense systems.
We will see in the immediate future what the pause of U.S. attacks on Saturday night really means. But let us all pray that it is only a step that will lead to the ultimate removal of the Iranian Islamic regime that oppresses its own people, and that seeks a holy war against the West.
And let us remember the ultimate truth that all things are “in the hands of God, with the exception of being in awe of God” (Talmud, Berakhot 33b). The result of truly understanding that ancient statement is that the one thing we can always do that will make a real difference… is to be in awe of God.
Do you want to help defeat evil, protect the world, and bring a lasting peace? There is one simple step that we can each do. Spend a little bit of time every day appreciating the grandeur of life. Look at a plant, the sunset, a child playing, or merely the miracle of how our bodies work, and express a prayer of gratitude and appreciation to the Holy One for giving us all so many magnificent gifts. If we allow ourselves to experience a little bit more awe in our daily lives, then that will hasten the Divine intervention needed to bring a real peace to the Middle East, and to the world. It is something that we can all do, and something that truly makes a difference.
May we all have the courage to find and express awe of God/life/the universe (however you view the Divine), and in so doing, hasten the redemption of the world into a time of lasting peace.
Chazak u’Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
July 25, 2026
12th of Av, 5786
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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