The world shifted on its axis today. While most were sleeping, the opening salvos of the next great Middle Eastern war screamed through the upper atmosphere. This was not another proxy attack or a symbolic gesture. This was a direct, brutal, and technologically terrifying assault by Iran on the sovereign state of Israel. Hypersonic missiles, the new bogeyman of modern warfare, slammed into the densely populated centers of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The age of deniable attacks and shadow wars is over. This is the real thing.
The grim reality is still taking shape, but the initial reports paint a horrific picture. Buildings have been turned into dust. Infrastructure is burning. And we are now getting the first confirmed numbers that at least twenty people have been killed or grievously wounded. Let that number sink in. Twenty lives, ended or irrevocably shattered, in the opening moments of a conflict that has been brewing for decades. And make no mistake, that number is a lowball. In the coming hours, as rescue crews pull back layers of rubble, the true cost will become painfully clear.
We have been warned about these weapons. Iran’s “Fattah” missile program, likely developed with significant Russian assistance, was designed for this exact purpose. To achieve speeds so extreme, reportedly between Mach 13 and Mach 15, that they render conventional missile defense obsolete. Think about the physics involved. A weapon traveling at over 10,000 miles per hour, capable of maneuvering unpredictably in flight, is not something you can simply shoot down. The advanced Arrow and David’s Sling systems, Israel’s multi-billion dollar shield, were overwhelmed. It’s a brutal lesson in the cold calculus of war: for every defensive shield man can engineer, another man will engineer a sharper spear.
This wasn’t just a military strike; it was a statement of capability and intent. For years, Iran has methodically built one of the most formidable missile arsenals on the planet. While the West engaged in endless, fruitless negotiations, Iran was building the factories, training the engineers, and perfecting the guidance systems. They can launch these weapons from deep inside their own territory, striking any target in Israel with terrifying precision. Each missile, like the Haj Qasem variant, can carry a warhead weighing over a thousand pounds. That is enough explosive power to level city blocks.
What we have just witnessed is the failure of an entire generation of foreign policy, a policy built on appeasement and a naive belief that hostile regimes can be contained. You cannot contain an ideology that is openly committed to your annihilation. The strikes on Tel Aviv and Haifa are the logical conclusion of that failed strategy. This is no longer a question of if a wider war will erupt, but when. The opening shots have been fired. The carefully maintained illusion of regional stability has been shattered. We are now in uncharted territory, and the path forward is fraught with peril.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2025/06/the-israel-iran-conflict-qa-with-rand-experts.html
https://nationalsecurityjournal.org/irans-hypersonic-missiles-summed-up-in-4-words/
https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/rjagww0xll
https://www.timesofisrael.com/devastation-grows-as-iran-targets-civilian-areas-despite-interceptors-and-shelters/
https://norskluftvern.com/2025/06/17/thaad-vs-arrow-advanced-missile-defense-showdown/