Cardboard Supreme Leader

 
He (President Trump) said America could not begin negotiations because he had “no idea” who was running Iran and “nobody’s seen” Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader.

Notable.

Sablanut (2)

Jerusalem. What a monstrous missile! Nobody hurt.

Marom (our Jewish-Chinese sage) says that opening the Hormuz would be easy for America. Done by force, it would be a palpable defeat for the Ayatollahs and the end of their rule. Chiney knows what he is saying.

Sablanut (Patience)

 Had an hour-long political analysis with Claude, and the final conclusion is the same as Tzahal's, get ready for a three-week war.  Follow the Civil Defense instructions and have patience. 

The enemy is trying to create a world-wide economic crisis by stopping the Gulf's oil exports, thus pressuring USA to negotiate a ceasefire. European allies are unwilling to take any part in the fight, and Spain is even sabotaging the effort. China is the hardest hit and may be forced to tell Iran to stop the war. There is a widening split between the Revolutionary Guards and the civil government. So, active forces are working towards ending the war. All wars end at some point. In the meanwhile, we in Israel have a free hand to destroy Hizballah, if we can. 

The water problem

 Claude reflects on the water problem.

Fortunately, I shall be dead when the crisis arrives.

Another ruined siesta

 2.40 PM Shabbat siesta time and alarm again. The streets are empty and the city is silent. Good that I have to work with this Fandango oil-recycling project. Phoned to daughters, they don't answer. 

Civil defense alarm

 I was sleeping my siesta when suddenly the municipal civil defense siren started howling. Instantly I got a stomachache and ran to the refuge. After a few minutes, to the toilet. It is nice, fresh spring day and people were walking on the street, suddenly it became empty. My BP is higher these days. 

Received the last edition of The Economist. The general outlook is good; the US is predicted to grow 2.3% in 2026 and Europe 1.5%. Two countries are prospering: Taiwan and Israel. Taiwan 6.9% and Israel 4.8%. Both are isolated, island economies, both under attack. Germany, Switzerland, Italy and other European countries are stagnating, peace does not stimulate economic growth. 

Iran has closed the Hormuz Strait, and maritime traffic has almost stopped. Iran has fired its strongest weapon, fortunately it is not our problem. America has a dozen military bases in the Gulf area exactly for this eventuality. Paradoxically, they were vacated as soon as the war started.  

Little Israel is forced to wage war forever. The Jews were the most pacific people on Earth, but now we are learning how wage war and losing our natural fear of armed conflict. People will be surprised how effective we are becoming.  

We are at War...but Just around the corner...

Just emerged from the mamad (refuge) even if the "end of the emergency" is yet to arrive. Life under bombardment is not easy, less for old people like me, but our enemies have to be defeated. I'm reading British news and it is not the same country I know and love. The Parlament has been asked to investigate Zionist conspiracies. One hundred years late. Iran attacked the Sunni Gulf emirates and closed the Hormuz. The price of oil almost doubled. Apparently, the Americans did not expect this development.

Projectiles by target country

Unlike June 2025, when the war was almost exclusively Iran-versus-Israel, the 2026 conflict has turned the entire Gulf into a warzone. Iran has been distributing fire across 13 countries, overwhelming regional air defenses and forcing every Gulf state into the conflict. Critically, the data now confirms that the UAE has absorbed far more total projectiles than Israel, with 1,468 projectiles versus 392. The INSS Israel assessment confirmed that Iran launched 2.5 times more missiles and 20 times more drones at Gulf states than at Israel.

Country	Missiles	Drones	Total	% of Total	Interception Rate
Israel	285	107	392	12.8%	90% Ballistic Missiles, 90% Drones
UAE	214	1,254	1,468	48%	92% Ballistic Missiles, 93% Drones
Kuwait	178	384	562	18.4%	97% Ballistic Missiles, 95% Drones
Bahrain	84	147	231	7.6%	88% Ballistic Missiles, 82% Drones
Qatar	104	39	143	4.7%	97% Ballistic Missiles, 62% Drones
Jordan	60	59	119	3.9%	100% Ballistic Missiles, 100% Drones
Saudi Arabia	28	45	73	2.4%	98% Ballistic Missiles, 93% Drones
Iraq	20	40	60	2%	70% Ballistic Missiles,65% Drones
Oman	2	4	6	0.2%	50% Ballistic Missiles, 50% Drones

Azerbaijan	0	3	3	0.1%	N/A
Turkey (NATO)	1	0	1	<0.1%	100%
Cyprus/UK (Akrotiri)	0	1	1	<0.1%	N/A

Israel has absorbed just 12.8% of all projectiles, while the UAE has received 48%.