TIMES OF ISRAEL
Israel was facing destruction at the hands of Iran. This is how close it came, and how it saved itself
David Horovitz
June 30, 2025

The Iranian regime was increasingly convinced in recent months that it would soon be able to destroy Israel. The “Destruction of Israel” clock in Tehran’s Palestine Square was not an exercise in bravado. It was a public countdown to what the ayatollahs believed was Israel’s imminent demise, at their hands. Along with dismay that Yahya Sinwar had failed to consult and coordinate with them before invading southern Israel on October 7, 2023, the regime drew encouragement from the success of that massacre, its apparent confirmation of Israel’s vulnerability, and the ongoing instability it had caused. Israel’s elimination, the regime delightedly, and rationally, assessed, was truly at hand. READ MORE