The sirens in Israel have become so familiar that people know which room to run to before they’re fully awake – the neighborhood bombshelter. Or if you’re lucky, a safe room at home. Either way – this is not normal. That’s what forty years of Iranian investment in terror looks like from our Israeli point of view.

For years, people asked when the Iran threat would finally be addressed. The answer came in stages. In June 2025, Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear sites for twelve days, a move Netanyahu later called a historic victory over Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions. But Iran did not stop. It rebuilt what it could, kept its proxies armed, and continued advancing its program in underground facilities the IAEA could no longer access. So this winter, the next phase began. Nearly 900 strikes in twelve hours targeted Iranian missiles, air defenses, military infrastructure, and leadership. This was not a provocation. It was the most decisive move yet in a confrontation that is not over.

And it was not Israel’s fight alone. It never was.

What made this winter’s operation possible was not just military capability. It was a partnership built over generations. American and Israeli pilots trained together, planned together, and flew together. Intelligence was shared in real time. The trust required to coordinate strikes across dozens of targets in a single night does not come from a memo or a phone call. It comes from years of joint exercises, shared doctrine, and a common understanding of what is at stake. This is what a real alliance looks like. Not a transactional relationship, but two democracies that see the world the same way and act on it together.

Americans should understand........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)