Reactions to the Iran attack

Editorial staff was closed down – now it is being called back by Trump

Employees at the Persian-speaking editorial staff of the American and state-funded media company Voice of America (VOA) are getting their jobs back, due to the unrest between Israel and Iran. This is reported by Politico.

All 75 employees at the editorial staff were put on leave when Donald Trump announced in March that the radio channel would be closed.

"You are hereby recalled from leave [...] you are expected to return to work as soon as possible," writes the responsible authority USAGM in an email to employees.

The Trump administration stopped funding VOA and a number of other media companies on the grounds that they were spreading "radical leftist propaganda". The decision to now start broadcasting again is criticized by one of the editorial staff's journalists.

“This pattern of firing and rehiring, which has cost Americans countless millions of dollars, shows how idiotic they are,” the person told Politico. 

Analysis: The attack reflects how Netanyahu sees himself

The war between Israel and Iran has only just begun, Iselin Brady and Daniel Byman write in an analysis in Foreign Policy. They list several directions in which the conflict could develop. These include Iran backing down and accepting a ceasefire, Israel withdrawing, or an expanded regional conflict. In the latter scenario, for example, it could involve the United States deciding to take the opportunity to strike its old enemy Iran.

“American officials may believe that Israel has already done half the job, and that the United States can finish,” they write.

Lazar Berman writes in an analysis in the Times of Israel that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the region are entering a new era.

“The operation reflects how Netanyahu sees himself, but not at all how large parts of Israel and the world had viewed him in recent months,” he writes.

But he sees himself not only as Israel's protector but also as the savior of the entire Western world, says Alon Pinkas in an analysis in The Independent.