Step 2 Disarm Hezbollah and Attacking Iran On the Table

 Nadene Goldfoot

Next week Prime Minister Netanyahu will try to get President Trump's backing for more strikes against Iran, which is reportedly rebuilding its ballistic missile capabilities and possibly also its nuclear facilities at the same time of their own country's serious water shortage.                                    

                       Dried up river in the desert of Iran 

YouTube has reports telling of the water shortage in Iran and how they have abused their water sources in the first place. There is a video about it, so this is a window of Iran's weakness, one would think.                              

Reports show the effect on the Iranian people:  Long Queues for Water: Residents, including women and families, are seen waiting with containers for water supplies.  Prayers for Rain: People gather at mosques and shrines, pleading for rain to alleviate the drought.  Dry Infrastructure: Rivers and reservoirs that supply cities like Tehran are at critically low levels, with some reservoirs at only 12% capacity.  Impact on Daily Life: The crisis forces difficult choices, with residents working and children studying in the capital facing the reality of potential relocation due to lack of water. 

Why It's Happening:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsD8WhhUCIk                        

Iranian women pray for rainfall at the Saleh Shrine in Tehran on November 14 as the country suffers from severe water shortages.   

AFP/Getty Images

An Iranian worker distributes water in a drought-prone part of the country. (file photo)  I read that Teheran is hard-hit.  

"Iran faces a severe, multi-faceted water crisis driven by climate change (hotter, drier weather, shrinking snowpack) and severe mismanagement (over-extraction for agriculture, dam-building, illegal wells, inefficient infrastructure) leading to "water bankruptcy," depleting reservoirs, threatening food security, fueling social unrest and protests, and prompting drastic measures like capital relocation discussions and water imports ."  I read where they are to get water from Pakistan, and cannot spare water for agriculture so must let the field go dry, and plan on getting food from abroad.  Population Growth & Urbanization: Rapid growth, especially in Tehran, strains limited resources.  Governance Issues: Corruption and political decisions favoring certain groups (the "water mafia") have worsened the situation. 

Netanyahu will meet with Trump in Maro Lago. They should talk about it.   Another major topic of discussion will be Step 2; the disarming of Hamas, which doesn't seem to be happening but was a primary condition of the ceasefire agreement. 

It doesn't seem like any Arab or Muslim country has the will, or stomach, to disarm Hamas, which would leave the IDF as the only force ready, willing and able to get the job done. The USA have helped others in time of need, but that is a rare thing for others to do.  I doubt if their army is as well-prepared to do the job, anyway, like Israel is. 

Naim Qassem:  (born February 1953) is a Lebanese Shia cleric and politician who became Hezbollah’s secretary-general on 29 October 2024, the fourth person to hold the position. He participated in the founding of Hezbollah in 1982, and previously served as the first deputy secretary-general from 1991 to 2024.  Following the Lebanese government's decision about the disarmament of Hezbollah, which calls for a state monopoly on arms, Qassem stated in a televised speech on 15 August 2025 that there will be "no life" in Lebanon if the government tries to disarm Hezbollah. 

Hezbollah Supporters listening to Naim Qassem's speech.  
 

And then there's Hezbollah, which the Lebanese government is supposed to disarm, but is clearly not strong enough to do. There's still lots of work to be done to achieve the peace that President Trump has already proclaimed, in other words, has jumped the gun. 

The Gaza war sparked a renewed Israel–Hezbollah conflict. Hezbollah has said it will not stop attacking Israel until Israel ceases its attacks in Gaza. Starting with the Israeli explosion of Lebanese pagers and walkie talkies in September 2024, the conflict escalated severely, with the 23 September 2024 Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon killing at least 558 people, and sparking a mass exodus from southern Lebanon. On 27 September 2024, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike. On 1 October 2024, Lebanon was invaded by Israel with the objective of destroying infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in the south of the country. (Israel has targeted various types of Hezbollah infrastructure, which generally includes a military network embedded within and near civilian areas in southern Lebanon. This infrastructure primarily consists of: Tunnels and underground bunkers: Extensive underground networks carved into the rock, used for cover, command centers, storage, and as staging grounds for attacks. Some have been described as large enough for vehicles and contained living quarters, clinics, and ventilation systems. Weapons caches and storage facilities: Locations used to store weapons, ammunition, rockets, and anti-tank missiles.)

 In November 2024, a ceasefire deal was signed between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah to end 13 months of conflict. According to the agreement, Hezbollah was given 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon and Israeli forces were obliged to withdraw from the area over the same period.

Lebanon's government is run as a sectarian-based parliamentary republic, with power shared among its major religious communities, headed by a President (Maronite Christian), a Prime Minister (Sunni Muslim), and a Parliament that appoints the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) to handle executive duties, though recent years saw political deadlock, with a new government under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed in early 2025 after a long vacuum. 

Resource:

israelAM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsD8WhhUCIk

https://e360.yale.edu/features/iran-water-drought-dams-qanats

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naim_Qassem

Nuclear Bombs of Iran Continue

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

  Iran's rockets, Fajr 5 can reach cities of Afula and Hadera in Israel.  

Iran reportedly still possess enough enriched uranium to produce 11 nuclear bombs. The stockpile is believed to have been secretly relocated prior to the Israeli and American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. "US President Donald Trump has insisted that US strikes obliterated Iran’s nuclear enrichment program during the 12-day war in June. However, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a deal between Iran and several global powers to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, expired last month. "

Members of the Israeli security forces check the destruction in front of a residential building hit during an Iranian missile attack in Beersheba in southern Israel, on June 20, 2025. Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on June 20, a week into the war between the longtime enemies.Maya Levin, AFP Via Getty Images

      An  Israeli Air Defense System intercepts a ballistic missile on Junes 21, 2025.  

• Context: The June 2025 war, which involved direct military confrontation between Iran, Israel, and the US, marked a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict. Israel reportedly targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, while Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel. 

The Jerusalem Post says that,""Israel feels the job is unfinished and sees no reason not to resume the conflict, so Iran is doubling down preparedness for the next round."

 Iran is said to be developing a new enrichment site, codenamed “Pickaxe Mountain,” which it refuses to open to international inspectors. Satellite imagery taken over the last months show that Iran is continuing construction activities at the Natanz “Pickaxe” mountain, or Mt Kolang Gaz-La, in line with activity at the site prior to the June war.  Multiple reports have suggested that Pickaxe could be the perfect hiding place for uranium — as speculation mounted that Iran may have been able to remove its cache before the attacks unfolded over the weekend.

As of September 2025, Iran’s visible activities point towards late stages of construction, including improving security, but represent neither an expansion of the site nor an acceleration of activity.  They do not indicate an ability to quickly rebuild destroyed parts of its nuclear program. 

 Rather, Iran appears to have two main choices for the site: Cobble together remaining assets into this closely watched facility, exposing high value targets for follow-on strikes, such as highly enriched uranium stocks, during recovery from rubble and transport, or slowly build and accumulate new capabilities, where anything imported from abroad or produced by Iranian companies outside the military industry would have to be closely scrutinized for quality and potential sabotage.

Iran is also reportedly rebuilding its ballistic missile industry, using chemicals imported from China. Yes, Iran is reportedly rebuilding its ballistic missile program with chemicals like sodium perchlorate imported from China. This is not a new development, as China has been a long-time supplier of these materials for Iran's missile programs. These purchases are part of a broader effort to replenish depleted missile stocks, particularly after the recent conflict with Israel. 

Israeli officials now believe that Iran has rebuilt at least half of their original arsenal of 2,700 missiles and is working to expand it ahead of a potential new confrontation. TBN Israel's Yair Pinto reports on the Israel-Hamas and regional war. Iran is rebuilding its ballistic missile arsenal while denying access to nuclear inspectors. Hamas violates the ceasefire with rocket fire and executions in Gaza, even as it secretly works with mediators to hold onto power.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah smuggles Russian missiles through Syria with help from corrupt army units.

And in Israel, the IDF strikes back hard eliminating over 30 Hamas commanders in a single wave of precision attacks. Stay up-to-date with the latest developments here on TBN Israel.

An Iranian girl drinks water during a heatwave in the capital Tehran on August 9, 2025. | Atta Kenare/Getty Images/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Iran is experiencing a major draught and is facing severe water shortages in Tehran and other major cities.  Iran has now seen six years of drought in a row, with reservoirs in Tehran dropping to their lowest level in decades. Officials say Tehran residents have reduced their water consumption by 12% in the last seven months, but this still falls short of the projected goal.Iran's drought is caused by a combination of factors, including climate change, decades of poor water management, excessive dam construction, illegal well drilling, and unsustainable agricultural practices. These issues have severely depleted water reserves, with climate change and rising temperatures exacerbating the crisis by increasing evaporation and contributing to low rainfall. The Ayatollah has thought nothing but how to harm Israel when he should be taking care of the land and his own people.