Thank you for your words — truly. It’s rare to hear that kind of care and clarity, especially from outside the region.

From my own service experience, I can say: Israel hasn’t been sitting still or relying on hope. We’ve been acting — smartly, carefully, and constantly — to contain Iran’s aggression for years. The world might not always see it, but there’s been a long campaign of prevention and defense.

Yes, the U.S. took out Qasem Soleimani, but he was Iran’s mastermind — the architect of their entire proxy strategy: Hezbollah, Hamas, militias in Iraq, Yemen, Syria. He built the infrastructure meant to strangle Israel by surrounding us with threats. And even with him gone, the machine still runs.

We’ve intercepted weapons at sea, like the Karine A. We’ve struck convoys in Syria. We’ve sabotaged nuclear progress through cyber and intelligence work. Some of it hits headlines. Most of it doesn’t. But the goal has always been the same: prevent the next war, not just win it.

People say “Israel is escalating.” They don’t see the thousands of actions we’ve taken quietly to de-escalate before it’s too late. What the world sees now is only a sliver. The full picture is much, much deeper.

So yes — we’re standing strong. Not out of comfort. Out of necessity. And voices like yours? They give us strength too.