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- By request: Iran and Israel
On Friday, Israel launched a “pre-emptive” attack on Iran, using fighter jets and drones to bomb dozens of sites across the capital city, Tehran. Israel said it was targeting nuclear facilities and “military locations”. At the time of writing, 78 people were killed, including senior Iranian military personnel, nuclear scientists and children. At least 320 people were injured.
Pre-emptive really means unprovoked – Israel claimed Iran was “planning” an attack, but none happened. The last time Iran launched a missile attack on Israel in October 2024 (in retaliation for Israel assassinating military figures in Tehran), it gave advance warning. I have not found any reporting that Iran was planning to attack Israel; it seems to be a claim made only by Israel.
Iran has retaliated with strikes on Israel, killing 4 people at time of writing. Here’s some of the key context you need to understand what’s going on.
Israel-Iran proxy war
Israel and Iran have been engaged in a proxy war (as in, fighting through other groups) for decades.
As you know, Israel is currently run by an extremist, right-wing and expansionist government. It wants Israel to own and control more geographical territory than it currently does, and considers any opposition to that from other nations or groups as an existential threat.
Iran is a theocratic democracy ruled by its religious leader – the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his appointed Islamic Republic Guardian Council of mostly religious figures – who sit above the Iranian President and the elected parliament in the government’s hierarchy. We’ve previously published a short summary of how that came to be here.
Iran is sympathetic to Palestinian liberation, and has been providing support (through various means) to Hamas, and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Again, as you know, these groups have been engaged in various and overlapping conflicts with Israel.
The nuclear situation
There are 9 countries that have nuclear weapons: Russia, the US, China, France, the UK, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea (listed in order of most to least, full details here).
You’ll notice that Iran is not on that list. They don’t have nuclear weapons, but they have been running a nuclear development program since the 1950s (that originally started with the support of the US) for various uses, but which is also capable and likely of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has been enriching and stockpiling weapons-grade uranium.
Israel does not want Iran to have nuclear weapons, and not only complains about this to international agencies but also targets Iran’s nuclear facilities in its strikes to attempt to disrupt the program – exactly as it did this weekend.
To be clear, Iran is almost certainly developing nuclear weapons and has not been cooperative with the International Atomic Energy Agency (the global nuclear regulator).
But here’s the thing: Israel itself has nuclear weapons, but refuses to ‘officially’ confirm or deny this and refuses to sign the UN’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (India and Pakistan have not signed either, North Korea did sign but has now withdrawn).
Here’s another thing: Earlier this year, Iran and the US began negotiations for a ‘nuclear peace agreement’ that would allow Iran to continue its nuclear programs under certain conditions. The Iran-US talks were supposed to resume again today (Sunday), but Iran has now called the talks “meaningless” and at time of writing has not decided whether it will attend any further discussions.
Benjamin Netanyahu has been deadset against these talks happening, which I think goes a long way to explain why Israel launched this particular attack at this particular time.
What happens next, and how serious things get, will depend on whether other countries get militarily involved – especially the US.
One final note: in his first statement on the attack, Netanyahu said his goal was to liberate the Iranian people by bringing down the oppressive Islamic regime controlling the country. I’ve seen some major global (and domestic) news outlets treat that claim as if it's a serious one – it’s bullshit. The people of Iran deserve liberation and have been agitating for revolution; suggesting that Netanyahu bombed them to help with this is just dishonest.
Smart stuff on the Internet 💭
All the stuff I found on the web that made me think, smile, or have an ‘aha!’ moment. Spend your Sunday reading them – you'll be better off for it:
Is Everyone Just Faking It in Fashion? on Fashion Magazine
On the Skims nipple-pierced bra: “Piercings droop with age. Under-eyes darken from sleepless late nights. Well-worn clothes develop rips, stains and loose threads. Our style means more when it’s been through things with us. And that’s something a simulated piercing—no matter how real it looks pressing through a shirt—can never achieve.”
His life was filled with strangers’ photos. Yours might be among them on Sydney Morning Herald
“At the photobooth installed at RMIT for the duration of the exhibition, I watched a steady stream of young people going in and coming out, waiting the wait, excited. And then it was my turn. I remembered the half-curtain, the swivelling too-small seat (happily, the machine accepted cards). It was over in seconds. … When I got home, I put the new photos against the old, and felt the pull of nostalgia, but also an appreciation for the fact that this was me now, as is, no retakes. I’ll make meaning of it later.”
Why the ‘Tradwife’ debate topic isn’t dangerous — but the outrage might be on Notes on Nuance substack
This substack by Lauren Beckman, friend of Zee Feed, is always so smart, informed and thoughtful. This piece on the outrage over asking Year 9 students to debate whether the tradwife movement is “good” for women is spot on: “The purpose isn’t to “win the argument.” The purpose is to understand it … Why are we not just as focused on giving [kids] a structured, guided opportunity to engage with ideas about gender, power, and domestic roles? If you think the tradwife movement is dangerous, wouldn’t you want boys learning how to deconstruct it in a safe, educational setting?”