Israel’s military campaign in Iran has already produced «enormous achievements,» according to experts tracking the conflict, with many citing the operation as the payoff for years of preparation, battlefield innovation and intelligence development.

Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a leading voice on U.S. policy toward Iran, called Israel’s progress «a resounding military win.»

«They’ve actually dominated the Iranian military,» Dubowitz told Fox News Digital. «They’ve taken out many senior military leaders, the Iranian Air Force, and a significant percentage of missile launchers and ballistic inventory.»

Still, Iran’s retaliation is taking a toll. On Thursday morning, an Iranian missile struck Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba and targeted several major cities, injuring hundreds.  Despite the heavy costs, military experts insist that the IDF continues to hold the upper hand, both tactically and strategically.

IRAN WARNS US JOINING CONFLICT WOULD MEAN ‘ALL‑OUT WAR’

Comparing the scale of success to the Six-Day War, Dubowitz said, «It’s starting to look like 1967, when the Israelis eviscerated five Arab armies. It may take longer than six days, but they’re certainly on that trajectory.»

Hila Hadad-Hamelnik, a strategist at «Mind Israel» think tank and former CEO of the Ministry of Innovation, noted that the success is no accident — it is the result of «years of preparation in every aspect.» From developing long-range strike capabilities to building an unparalleled intelligence apparatus and adapting operational doctrines from Gaza and Lebanon, she said the IDF’s current dominance is a product of both innovation and experience.

«This is not a campaign someone decided to do six months ago,» she said. «This is years of work — in intelligence, in weapons development, in defensive and offensive operations. The methods we tested against Hezbollah — striking command chains quickly and precisely — were studied, refined, and applied here.»

A massive plume of smoke and fire rises from an oil refinery in southern Tehran following reports that an overnight Israeli strike targeted the site on June 15, 2025. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

She pointed to lessons learned in Gaza, especially the importance of rapidly identifying and eliminating rocket launchers before strikes even begin. «We learned through hard fighting that you have to neutralize launchers, not just intercept the missiles. And that doctrine — developed in Gaza where targets are five minutes away — has now been adapted to Iran, with all the complexity that entails.»

ISRAEL SAYS IT HAS AERIAL SUPERIORITY OVER TEHRAN, IRANIAN INTELLIGENCE LEADER KILLED»

Fire and smoke rise into the sky after an Israeli attack on the Shahran oil depot on June 15, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. Iran’s foreign minister said the country would respond «decisively and proportionally» to a wave of attacks that Israel launched beginning in the early hours of June 13. The attacks targeted multiple military, scientific and residential locations, as well as senior government officials.  (Stringer/Getty Images)

Hadad-Hamelnik stressed that Israel’s control over Iranian skies is «stunning … the Air Force is flying over Iran day after day. Drones are holding the skies.»

Smokes raises from a building of the Soroka hospital complex after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran in Be’er Sheva, Israel, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Even with the heavy toll taken when Iran’s missiles get through, like the attack against Soroka hospital on Thursday, she credited the country’s defensive systems, like Iron Dome and David’s Sling — systems she helped develop — which intercepted missile salvos with over 90% effectiveness, even amid unprecedented barrages. «This is a war of a different scale, and yet the systems are holding,» she said.

Dubowitz acknowledged that despite massive gains, one key target remains: the Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, buried under a mountain at a Revolutionary Guard base.

A map shows where Iran’s most important nuclear facilities are situated. (Fox News)

«Israel has devastated Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. They’ve eliminated 14 senior nuclear scientists — the ‘Oppenheimers’ of Iran’s program,» he said. «But Fordow remains. And if it’s left standing, Iran can rebuild.»

While Dubowitz clarified that he is not explicitly calling for U.S. military strikes, he said that «President Trump must ensure Fordow is fully dismantled — whether through a diplomatic agreement or, if Iran refuses, a targeted military intervention.»

He outlined three potential paths: «One, Iran shows up for a real deal and the program is dismantled. Two, Trump strikes Fordow. Three, Trump strikes and then negotiates. But either way, it has to end with Iran losing its nuclear weapons capability — not just temporarily, but permanently.»

An Israeli fighter jet takes off for strikes in Tehran. (IDF)

INSIDE ISRAEL’S SECRET WAR IN IRAN: MOSSAD COMMANDOS, HIDDEN DRONES AND THE STRIKE THAT STUNNED TEHRAN

Hadad-Hamelnik believes Israel’s success has created an opportunity for the United States.

«Thanks to the phenomenal achievements of the IDF, the situation is now very clear. If the U.S. were to join at this point, with Fordow as the main remaining target and most assets already degraded, it would not look like getting pulled into a quagmire,» she said. «This is nothing like Ukraine or Afghanistan. There’s an actual path to decisive success, and that can change the political calculus in Washington.»

Dubowitz added that Israel’s offensive struck not only military and nuclear targets, but also Iran’s internal security infrastructure — including state media and the regime’s repressive arms. for that, he said, could open the door for future domestic unrest. «We can’t expect people to protest while missiles are falling. But if Israel continues striking the regime’s tools of repression, space may open for Iranians to return to the streets.»

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Dubowitz, who has spent two decades warning of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, reflected on the moment with cautious hope. «I’m heartened to see the long arm of Israeli justice reach those responsible for such brutal aggression,» he said. 

«This may be a historic opportunity to truly end Iran’s nuclear threat, and perhaps even to support the Iranian people in reclaiming their future,» he added, «There have been incredible achievements, but if Fordow is left standing by President Donald Trump, then it could end up being a Pyrrhic victory.»

Un hombre va a Museo, mira las obras pero no alcanza, mirar no alcanza, hay que documentar, no para mostrarles a otros lo que se ve -hay tantas fotos de las obras online sacadas por buenos fotógrafos- sino para mostrarse allí, no para mostrar la obra sino al espectador. Un hombre va al museo y se quiere sacar una foto con una obra como si fuera una estrella de rock. No sabemos si se ha parado a pensar, a sentir, a entender la obra. Ni él, ni cada uno de nosotros, que hacemos lo mismo. Quizás lo haya hecho, quizá no, pero quiere la foto. Y eso implica una proximidad tal vez no prevista en la obra, o por lo menos no en cualquier obra.

De pronto algo sale mal: la obra es frágil, el espectador tropieza y, ay, la obra se rompe. El incidente ocurrió hace unos días en el museo Palazzo Maffei de Verona, en Italia, y fue un escándalo. La obra en cuestión se llamaba Silla de Van Gogh, una escultura cubierta de cristales Swarovski diseñada por el artista Nicola Bolla en 2022. Por supuesto, la silla de Bolla hace alusión a otra silla, que sí pintó Van Gogh en un cuadro que hoy está en Londres.

El museo demandó al turista. El artista, en cambio, dijo que era “un gesto estúpido (…)” pero que también veía “un lado positivo y artístico”. Y, claro. Alguien que hace arte no puede sino pensar qué significados tiene lo que hizo y lo que pasó con su obra. Pero vamos despacio.

Por lo menos, desde que alguien -solía decirse que Marcel Duchamp, pero ya no estamos seguros- presentó un mingitorio como una obra de arte, las ideas sobre qué decimos cuando a hablamos de arte empezaron a cambiar. Y el arte ya no fue -o tal vez nunca lo haya sido- algo lindo para colgar en el living sino, como decía el crítico ruso Víktor Shklovski, un estímulo para “desautomatizar la mirada”. Desautomatizar la mirada, en fin, es una forma de volver a ver lo que, a fuerza de repeticiones y estereotipos, en la práctica es invisible. Eso pretende hacer el arte. No mimarnos; sí incomodarnos, despertarnos, hacer que valga la pena percibir, hacernos volver a percibir.

El arte es algo cuando nos habla de nosotros, cuando nos toca el corazón y/o nos sacude las neuronas, cuando nos cuenta algo que nos importa. Si no, ¿para qué pasar el tiempo entre pasillos llenos de pinturas cuando viajamos a una ciudad lejana. ¡Con todo lo que hay para ver en las calles!

En estos tiempos de imágenes sin fin y, más, de imágenes virtuales, las obras de arte, las obras famosas, se han convertido en estrellas no solo por lo que muestran sino también por lo que son. Son algo único, valioso, real. Ya lo dijo el filósofo Walter Benjamin, en la década del 30, cuando ni fotocopiadoras había. La obra, sostenía, tenía singularidad irrepetible, una suma de autenticidad, historia y contexto, lo que él llamaba un “aura”. La obra es única. ¿Y sus reproducciones? Buenos, aunque muchos no podamos distinguir el original de una buena copia, las reproducciones no tienen esa aura. No hay a su alrededor equipos de seguridad, no se va a un lugar especial para verlas, esas cosas. Cuanto más cualquiera puede producir algo idéntico al original, más única es la experiencia de ver “la obra”. Por eso las eligieron grupos ecologistas como blancos de “atentados”: sin matar a nadie apuntaban a algo sagrado. A los guardianes de la experiencia del mundo real.

Sin querer, al intentar sentarse en la silla el turista cruzó una línea, la misma de la que se burló René Magritte cuando dibujó una pipa y escribió debajo: “Esto no es una pipa”. Porque, claro, eso no era una silla, era una obra de arte. Por eso -para señalar que lo era- no estaba apoyada por ahí sino instalada en una tarima.

Pero cruzar las líneas entre qué es arte y qué no lo es ha sido una de las tareas del arte contemporáneo. Recuerdo hace años, en la Bienal de Venecia, cuando entré a un pabellón y una señora gateaba por todo el salón mientras una rueda a su alrededor la mirada interesada. Así, difíciles de descifrar, son a veces esas formas del arte llamadas “performances”. De pronto, la señora se chupó el dedo, lo pegó al piso y se levantó triunfante: “¡Encontré el lente!”.

Pero, entonces, ¿qué es una obra de arte? O mejor: ¿qué hace? Podríamos pensar que Nicola Bolla, al llevar a los cristales la silla de Van Gogh nos habló de la fragilidad del artista holandés. Así lo percibimos a Van Gogh, ¿no? Más frágil que el cristal. Alguien se acercó demasiado y, crash.

También podemos entender que lo que quiso hacer Bolla fue mostrar en qué se ha convertido la obra de Van Gogh: del retrato de una humilde silla de paja, el material más común y más rústico del mundo, a cristales delicados, finos, caros. ¡Qué otro mundo que el de Van Gogh este de la millonada que llegaron a costar sus obras (en 1990, el Retrato del doctor Gachet fue vendida por 82,5 millones de dólares). Paja versus cristales de marca. Se entiende.

Eso podía querer decir la obra de Bolla. Pero ahora, destrozada, ¿no significa otra cosa? Yo leo: ya no hay nada sagrado en el mundo en que vivimos. Leo: esto es lo que hacen las redes sociales con lo que solíamos llamar arte. Leo una nueva idea, de la que la silla es material y el turista, un autor involuntario, autor al que le falta algo fundamental, la reflexión, pero que actuó, puso en acto un espíritu de época. No me disgusta.

Most members of the U.S. House and Senate were nowhere near Washington when a gunman went to the homes of two Minnesota state lawmakers, killing two people and wounding two others.

And that’s exactly what rattled U.S. representatives and senators. They, too, weren’t in Washington. They were home for the weekend.

Police accuse Vance Boelter of killing Democratic state Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Boelter is also accused of shooting Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

All at their homes.

And that’s exactly what rattled U.S. senators and representatives. They weren’t in Washington.

MINNESOTA LAWMAKER HAPPENED TO BE ON VACATION WHEN MASKED SUSPECT KNOCKED ON DOOR

«Minnesota was jarring because (the suspect) went after family,» said one House member who has faced threats and asked for anonymity. «We’re gone 50 percent of the time. There are no lines anymore.»

Congress lives in the era of doxxing. People sending pizzas to their houses – a not-so-subtle way of saying, «I know where you live.» Swatting.

It freaks the lawmakers out. But what shakes the members to the core is when a threat is directed at their families. Maybe a message is sent to the school where their children attend. Looming over the Minnesota massacre is the 2017 Congressional baseball practice shooting, which nearly killed House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. Then there’s the 2011 near-assassination of former Reps. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and Ron Barber, D-Ariz.

«We need to be proactive on our own,» said one lawmaker to Fox who asked they not be identified. «Not reactive.»

Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., canceled a town hall meeting with constituents this week after what went down in Minnesota.

«After being made aware that my name was on a list connected to the recent tragic shooting in Minnesota, my office has made the difficult decision to postpone our planned town hall in Muskegon,» said Scholten. «Out of an abundance of caution and to not divert additional law enforcement resources away from protecting the broader public at this time, this is the responsible choice.»

Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., in the Longworth House Office Building on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Officials found the names of dozens of House and Senate members on a list written by the alleged assassin.

This begs the question: can congressional security officials keep lawmakers safe?

SUSPECTED MINNESOTA LAWMAKER ASSASSIN VANCE BOELTER CAPTURED

One Democrat applauded efforts by the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP). But the lawmaker pointed out it was physically impossible for the USCP to protect all members and their families 24/7, both in Washington and in their home states or districts. USCP report more than 9,400 bona fide threats against lawmakers. USCP processed just a fraction of those threats a decade ago.

Moreover, there was zero information about the shooters at either the baseball practice or the Giffords rampage.

It’s one thing to track the «knowns.» The «unknowns» are even more scary.

So what are lawmakers to do?

Capitol security officials and the U.S. Capitol Police briefed all senators on the threats they faced early Tuesday morning.

«Sobering,» is how Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., described the conversation. «The threat to public officials and families is very real and very widespread.»

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., about the «Members Representational Allowance» or «MRA.» That’s a fund the House allocates to each member to run their office. Jeffries and Morelle asked Johnson to «substantially increase» the MRA, so lawmakers could bolster security services.

There’s also discussion about scrubbing the personal information of lawmakers from the web or approving anti-doxxing legislation.

«The increase in violence, the threats of violence against members didn’t happen by accident. It happened because of the coarseness of the debate,» said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

That means you can have all the security you want. But you can’t change how people think. What they decide to post online. Or where they decide to go.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, removed two social media posts about the Minnesota shootings amid a barrage of criticism from the left and the right. Lee equated the shooting to «Marxists» and insinuated that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) was partly to blame for the murders.

Sen Mike Lee speaks during a campaign rally for U.S. Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump at Findlay Toyota Center on Oct. 13, 2024, in Prescott Valley, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., tracked down Lee in the Mike Mansfield room of the Capitol Monday night to express her displeasure about the posts.

«Was he receptive to your concerns?» asked Ryan Schmelz of Fox News Radio.

«I would say he seemed surprised to be confronted,» replied Smith.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also sought out Lee.

«I told him what I’ve said publicly. That this isn’t one bit funny for my state,» said Klobuchar. «Sen. Lee and I had a good discussion, and I’m very glad he took it down.»

«Did he seem remorseful?» asked yours truly.

«Contrite?» questioned Lisa Desjardins of the PBS NewsHour.

«I’m not going to go into our discussion, or I wouldn’t be able to get things done,» responded Klobuchar. «But I will just say he took it down.»

Lee later ignored a question about why he removed the posts from colleague Tyler Olson.

So lawmakers find themselves – again – trying to lower the temperature.

And find solutions.

MINNESOTA OFFICIALS FIND CAR, HAT BELONGING TO ASSASSIN SUSPECT VANCE BOELTER ON HIGHWAY IN ‘FLUID’ SEARCH

If there isn’t action, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., is tinkering with forcing the House into a «Secret Session» to debate the right approach for congressional security. Such a resolution to move the House into a Secret Session needs a vote. It is also privileged. That means Moskowitz could go over the heads of House leaders and deposit the issue on the floor. The House could potentially vote to table or kill the effort.

The House has not held a clandestine session since 2008 – and only six such conclaves in the history of the republic. If members vote nay, they are on the record as opposing a secret session to discuss security.

But a consensus on what Congress wants – or if the U.S. Capitol Police has the wherewithal to handle – is a staggering proposal. The USCP is charged with protecting 535 members. What about guarding lawmakers back in their districts? And that’s to say nothing of family members.

Hoffman/Boelter/Hortman split (AP Images; Minnesota Department of Public Safety )

Moreover, security officials tell Fox there was a lot of criticism by members about the current security posture – from those who don’t take advantage of current programs afforded them by the House and USCP.

«They like to complain a lot,» said one Republican source who said many lawmakers failed to utilize security options.

Consider again why the Minnesota murders resonated so much on Capitol Hill.

Lawmakers are scared of stalkers and others who routinely threaten them. But it’s another level to target family members.

Some politicians run for office to attain power. Others for glory. And some, for good old public service.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Their families didn’t run for anything. Their names don’t appear on the ballot. On the committee door. They aren’t on the wall in the Rayburn House Office Building.

But the names and addresses of family members are on the internet.

And that’s what freaks out lawmakers the most.