Middle East Crisis Iran War

Israeli Sources: Started War Without a Clear Plan

Several Israeli security sources tell The Guardian that the Israeli-American attacks on Iran were launched without a clear plan.

There was also no realistic strategy for regime change. The hope was that the airstrikes would trigger an internal uprising against the regime, but the source describes this as wishful thinking rather than something based on intelligence.

The war is now about what will happen to the approximately half a ton of enriched uranium that is buried under the mountains after the attacks this summer, says a former Israeli intelligence officer.

– We are now in a situation where this material must be taken out of Iran, or handled by a regime that is fully trusted to protect it in a reassuring way.

The enriched uranium is enough to manufacture up to ten nuclear bombs. According to reports, the US is considering sending special forces on a high-risk mission to retrieve the uranium.

Israel: We will escalate attacks on Lebanon

Israel will escalate its military operations in Lebanon, the country's Defense Minister Israel Katz announced in a video statement according to the AP. The statement comes after a day of intense fighting between the countries.

On Thursday, Israel's military IDF issued further evacuation orders for southern Lebanon and urged residents to move to the northern parts.

On Wednesday, the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah attacked Israel with hundreds of projectiles, rockets and drones, several of which were aimed at Tel Aviv.

Israel responded to the attacks with bomb attacks on central parts of the capital Beirut. Eight people are reported to have died and 30 injured in an Israeli attack on the Ramlet al-Baida neighborhood, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Oscars Increase Security After FBI's Iran Warnings

Security has been increased ahead of the Oscars on Sunday, sources tell Variety. The background is the FBI's warning to police authorities in California that Iran could carry out attacks in the state in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks on the country.

The New York Post also has similar information that the Los Angeles police have been put on high alert ahead of the gala.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Oscars executive producer Raj Kapoor said that the gala has close cooperation with both the FBI and the Los Angeles police and that they take security very seriously.

The FBI has not commented on the information about the Iranian threats.