“Of course, you know this means war.” That’s a line that both Groucho Marx and Bugs Bunny uttered, cementing it into the American consciousness. When they said those words, it was funny. When you watch America withdraw all non-essential people from the Middle East, Israel warn Hezbollah “hands off or we wipe out Lebanon,” and pizza sales spike in D.C., it’s not funny at all.

Instead, it’s a reminder that the West is at a now-or-never moment in dealing with Iran’s nuclear ambitions. My current sense is that Israel cannot wait any longer to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities (given that Iran has been unambiguous that it intends to use a nuclear arsenal to erase Israel from the map), and that the United States is just getting out of the way.

Image created using AI.

Since taking office, Trump has told Israel not to act against Iran. He did so because he was confident that he could force Iran into a nuclear deal. Doing so would remove the risk of having the apocalyptic mullahs suddenly armed with a nuclear weapon that would allow them to trigger the End of Days they believe are a necessary predicate to the coming of the Mahdi. (Christians who believe in a coming apocalypse try to prepare themselves practically and spiritually. The mullahs belong to an extremist sect that believes it is their obligation to trigger the apocalypse.)

However, the deadline Trump set for negotiations is over, and reports are that the mullahs are days from going nuclear. Meanwhile, Israel has a diminishing window of time within which to benefit from their having destroyed Iran’s air defenses (assuming that the window hasn’t already closed). Given that Iran has been explicit about its desire to destroy Israel, Israel has no option but to strike against Iran’s nuclear capabilities. (And as a reminder, Iran has been explicit that, once it destroys Israel, America is next.)

All of which gets us to reports over the last 24 hours that the United States is removing all non-essential personnel in areas of the Middle East that could make them vulnerable to an attack:

Here’s what just went down — and it’s very interesting:

1. UK Maritime Trade issued a rare warning about rising tensions in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman, citing potential military escalation that could directly affect shipping.

2. The US Embassy in Iraq is…

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 11, 2025

????BREAKING???? The United States is preparing to evacuate its embassy in Iraq due to a growing security risk in the Middle East. A similar directive was issued earlier for American vessels in the Gulf.

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) June 11, 2025

Israel is also on high alert. One of the things it did was to warn off Hezbollah, something that strongly implies that there is an unfolding situation:

Update: "Israel sent a message to the Lebanese state through diplomatic channels that any military action by Hezbollah in response to possible attacks against Iran will be met with the destruction of the party and all of Lebanon", - Israeli media.

— EndGameWW3 ???????? (@EndGameWW3) June 11, 2025

Israel sent a message to the Lebanese state through diplomatic channels that any military action by Hezbollah in response to potential strikes on Iran would be met with the destruction of the party and Lebanon...

— Ph.Gritti (@Philipp27960841) June 11, 2025

Meanwhile, in D.C., the surprisingly reliable pizza index has been activated:

Ever heard of the ‘Pizza Index’?

When shits about to hit the fan, and a long night is in store…they order a boat load of pizza.

Here’s a live look at the pizza places around the Pentagon…that red bar is right now…the blue is normal busyness.

Israel + Iran = ???? pic.twitter.com/DCmwjx2caV

— Jordan Crowder (@digijordan) June 11, 2025

Despite all this, war is not certain. Back channels are saying that Israel has given Iran a Sunday deadline to reach a deal...or else.

BREAKING: The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), a multinational maritime security organization coordinating between commercial shipping and naval forces, has issued an urgent advisory warning of "escalating regional tensions" with elevated threat levels for vessels…

— Bernie News Network (@BNews_Network) June 12, 2025

The “or else” presumably means a massive Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military bases (including wiping out IRGC personnel), Kharg Island (which processes almost all of Iran’s petroleum exports, which means erasing their economy), and, possibly, against the mullahs themselves. Israel understands that, unless it strikes Iran with devastating force in the first instant, wiping out Iran’s military and economic capabilities, Iran will counter, not by wiping out Israel’s military capabilities, but by wiping out Israel itself.

Naturally, Europe will side with Iran, which shows just how stupid Europe has become. If Iran goes nuclear, Europe will be within range of its missiles. That means that Iran will be Europe’s de facto ruler. Europe’s only hope for maintaining some modicum of independence (before the Muslims within Europe take over anyway) is to support Israel. But again, Europe has become stupid.

Meanwhile, I do not believe that Trump, who truly hates war, intends to get involved in this fight. He will support Israel without embroiling American troops. That is, he will do so unless Iran makes the mistake that Germany and Japan made in 1941, which is to attack America (as Japan did) or declare war upon it (as Germany did). After that, well, all bets are off, and Armageddon, here we come!

I’ll leave you with a parting thought from Robert Gates during his tenure as secretary of defense:

Everywhere you turn, it is the policy of Iran to foment instability and chaos, no matter the strategic value or cost in the blood of innocents - Christians, Jews and Muslims alike... There can be little doubt that their destabilizing foreign policies are a threat to the interests of the United States, to the interests of every country in the Middle East, and to the interests of all countries within the range of the ballistic missiles Iran is developing.