Each day, the truth of the statement that we worship life while Iran and its proxies worship death becomes more obvious as Iran seems to be striving to escalate this war.
Let's take a brief look at some of what Iran did on Monday-Tuesday morning... all of which are actions designed to escalate the level of war in the region:
- Iran continues to send barrages at Israel both day and night, most coordinated with Hezbollah in Lebanon to make defense more challenging.
- An Iraqi hotel in Baghdad was attacked by Iranian drones.
- Iranian officials say that they have closed the Strait of Hormuz with mines and boats, and that any ally of the U.S. or Israel "in this illegal war" is prohibited and that the U.S. will soon surrender
- Reuters has reported that there were attacks on both Qatar and the UAE Fires broke out in Qatar after Iranian missiles were intercepted. And a tanker was hit east of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates by an 'unidentified weapon.'
- Multiple attacks on the American embassy in Baghdad, including rockets and at least 5 suicide drones. This is a demonstration of insanity on every level. It is an attack on Iraq, and more specifically, on America. Embassies are considered the soil of the foreign nation, and according to international law, these attacks are the same as if they had shot rockets at New York or Los Angeles.
I doubt that most Americans realize this truth about what Iran is doing, and probably won't unless, God forbid, an attack does happen on the continental U.S. But Iran is conscious about what it is doing, and brags that it is attacking the U.S. on its own soil.
The systemic efforts by European nations against Israel were demonstrated again on Monday, as Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy issued a joint statement trying to stop Israel from entering Lebanon to stop Hezbollah attacks (the Lebanese government has shown for years that it cannot or will not control Hezbollah). Israel is constantly being attacked by Hezbollah, the Lebanese government does nothing to curtail it, and so Israel is forced to go in themselves to eliminate Hezbollah and protect Israel. But these nations would clearly rather see Israel continue to be attacked than see the terrorist organization of Hezbollah stopped. The joint statement included, "We are concerned about the escalating violence between Israel and Lebanon. A large-scale ground maneuver by Israel must be avoided, as it carries devastating and prolonged consequences."
Israel must do what must be done in order to survive against all odds. As Golda Meir said, "If we have to have a choice between being dead and pitied, and being alive with a bad image, we'd rather be alive and have the bad image."
As Iran increases its aggressiveness, hopefully, the rest of the world, especially Americans, will start to understand the depth and importance of these words, not just for Israel, not just for the United States, but for all of Western Civilization.
Chazak u'Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
March 17, 2026
28th of Adar, 5786