The Jewish observance of the Fast of Esther was yesterday, followed by Purim, beginning last night. But while Israel has been observing this holy time, it was also getting unceasingly attacked by Iran, and Iran was getting the same from Israel and the United States. But in some ways, the most notable attacks were not by or at Israel, but what Iran has been doing to its own Arab neighbors in the Gulf. Ostensibly, these attacks were directed at U.S. forces and bases in these countries, but the reality is that Iran has been constantly attacking other sovereign Arab nations.
And one effect of this is rapidly deteriorating relationships between Iran and its Arab neighbors.
The other effect is that the line has been crossed. On his Truth Social account, Donald Trump wrote about Iran: “They want to talk. I told them ‘too late!’
In the last 36 hours, Iran has launched the following attacks:
- At Doha, Qatar. Qatar and the U.A.E. have both expressed on Monday that they need help with mid-long range defense systems; and according to a Bloomberg analysis, Qatar’s interceptor stockpile will only last another four days.
- Jordan was repeatedly attacked, with the Iranian attacks being aimed at the American base in the eastern part of the country
- Kuwait was attacked with both missiles and drones
- In Oman, news is saying that drones attacked fuel tankers at the Al-Duqm commercial port.
- Bahrain reported defending against missiles early Tuesday morning, for which the IRGC took credit, saying that the attack came from their “naval forces.”
- Saudi Arabia may have been most affected by Iran’s attacks on Monday and Tuesday morning. According to the French news service AFP, a mushroom cloud was spotted over the diplomatic quarter of Riyadh, which was later reported as a fire at the U.S. embassy after being hit by two drones. Thank God, the embassy had already been evacuated and was empty. The fire was followed a few hours later by more explosions in the diplomatic quarter. The Saudis claimed they were able to intercept and destroy eight drones.
The Iranian attacks in the region, especially in Saudi Arabia, have started to change the tide in the Middle East. So much so that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on Fox News on Monday evening, and publicly voiced his belief that “peace between Saudi Arabia and Israel is possible after the war with Iran”. With all of Iran’s attacks on other Arab nations’ soil, we will know soon if the momentum has shifted away from Arab/Iran alliances and more towards peaceful relationships with Israel.
But the majority of Iran’s attacks were in Israel, which has now had almost constant sirens all over the nation. This includes repeated attacks on Jerusalem, and one has to wonder what would happen if an Iranian missile accidentally hit the Mosque.
Steve Witkoff was also interviewed on Fox and revealed some disturbing news. He said that in the first meeting between the U.S. and Iran, the Iranians said “very clearly” that they have enriched uranium material that could be sufficient for 11 nuclear bombs.
Iran claimed to have closed the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump claimed the exact opposite, as well as revealing that 11 Iranian ships have now been sunk. The Strait is an extremely important waterway for all nations around the world, and one of the extreme points of leverage that Iran has against other nations.
All of this has been happening as Israelis stayed in their shelters and celebrated the holiday of Purim: a holiday remembering the destruction of an evil Persian regime 2,500 years ago.
May our prayers strengthen and protect the people of Israel, and may the Holy One, blessed be He, use the destruction of this enemy of Israel to bring a lasting peace to the region.
Chazak u’Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
March 3, 2026
14th of Adar, 5786
This war truly has the potential of changing the Middle East into a region of peace with Israel and the world. The sheer size of it is already dwarfing any operation that has been executed in decades:
- In 4 days, the operation has already surpassed the entire 12-day war of last June.
- The Israeli Air Force has dismantled over 300 Iranian missile launchers
- The IDF has deployed over 4,000 munitions in over 1,600 sorties,
- Israel had discovered and identified that after the war last June, Iranian scientists had started developing necessary components for weapons and secret bases hidden deep underground. The IDF struck one of those sites on Tuesday, disabling a facility that was a core component of Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.
- CENTCOM released that they have more than 50,000 U.S. troops, 200 fighter aircraft, two aircraft carrier strike groups, and strategic bombers including B-1, B-2, and B-53 bombers, describing it as the largest U.S. military buildup in the Middle East in a generation; and that the first 24 hours were nearly double the scale of the “shock and awe’ campaign in Iraq in 2003.
- Defensively, Iran has launched more than 500 missiles and over 2,000 drones, mostly towards civilian areas.
- 17 Iranian Naval vessels have been destroyed, including one submarine
- The Iranians claim to have closed the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Navy has now committed to escorting tankers through the Strait to “ensure the free flow of energy”. At the same time, CENTCOM has said that there are currently no Iranian naval ships operating in the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, or the Strait of Hormuz.
- Trump said, “The Iranians have no navy, no air defense.”
And in what is being reported as a first ever in military history, on Wednesday morning, an Israeli Air Force F-35I ‘Adir’ fighter jet shot down an Iranian YAK-130 fighter jet over Tehran. According to an IDF spokesperson, this marks ‘the world’s first downing of a manned fighter jet by an F-35.
But Iran continues down a more and more aggressive path nonetheless. A new “Supreme Leader” was elected on Tuesday: Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the recently killed Ayatollah. They continue to threaten that their worst attacks are yet to come, and they are continually attacking not only Israel but also the other Gulf States, creating a potential wedge between them and other Muslim nations.
Although being attacked throughout the nation on an hourly basis, Israel is again demonstrating the ability to work together. It has been announced that Ben Gurion Airport will reopen on Thursday night and operate 24 hours per day. Within 7 to 10 days, they are hoping to bring back all Israelis who are currently stuck abroad. The U.S. State Department announced on Tuesday that they are not only expanding operations to bring Americans home who are currently stuck in Israel, but it will also pay transportation costs for those Americans.
It was not that long ago that Beirut was called “the Paris of the Middle East,” and Lebanon was considered a paradise. Those days are long gone, and it looks like it is about to become more war-torn again. Israel is being forced to deal with the attacks by Hezbollah, which the Lebanese government is entirely unable to control. There were numerous attacks from Hezbollah throughout Israel on Monday and Tuesday, and Israel has responded forcefully. Hezbollah launched over 15 rockets just at the Golan area, and Israel has now, after warning civilians to leave certain areas, commenced destroying Hezbollah bases and weapons sites. As of Wednesday morning, over 60 Hezbollah targets have been hit. IDF spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee gave a clear warning to both Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsor. “The IDF warns that it will not tolerate any presence of representatives of the Iranian terror regime in Lebanon and will grant regime representatives currently in Lebanon 24 hours to leave the country. After that, there will be no safe place for representatives of the Iranian regime in Lebanon, and the IDF will target them wherever they are found.”
The Department of Homeland Security, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, sent out a memo (don’t ask how I saw it) warning leaders around the nation to be conscious of the Fatwa that has been issued calling all Muslims worldwide to avenge the death of Khamenei. As Americans, we need to have heightened situational awareness. Iranian Muslim clerics have issued these fatwas, which become Islamic law immediately after being issued. These two latest fatwas encourage acts of violence against the “enemies” of Israel and the U.S.
According to the White House and CENTCOM, the success of this war effort is moving ahead of schedule. Depending on whom you ask, government officials are giving anywhere between 3 days and 6 weeks to finish this operation and create a safe, non-nuclear Iran.
May this operation find a speedy and full success for Israel and the United States. May we soon see an Israel surrounded by friends and allies, a restructuring of the Middle East away from Islamic extremism and towards the beauties of Western Civilization, and a lasting peace. May God always please protect the State of Israel, the land of Israel, the people of Israel, and God bless America.
Chazak u’Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
March 4, 2026
15th of Adar, 5786
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