Beirut explosion is in area known to be used by Hezbollah for its long-range precision-guided missile project, which Israel publicly calls a red line. I have no specific knowledge, but would be surprised if explosives that detonated were not associated w/ that project. 1/
Accident or sabotage? Unclear. But one reason explosives were there in 1st place is Obama-Biden nuclear deal, which gave Iran & its terror proxy Hezbollah billions & unleashed them in the region. One of Hezb’s top priorities has been building sophisticated missiles. 2/
The nuclear deal harmed the security of Israel and Arab states alike -- but it was implemented in 2015, Trump admin won the 2016 election, and then reimposed sanctions, cracked down on Iranian terror, and in 2018 pulled out of the nuke deal. 3/
But now it looks like Biden is going to win the election and bring back Obama’s Iran deal crew. He promises to engage w/ Iran, re-enter nuke deal, and continue the Obama foreign policy that makes everyone in the region targeted by Iran feel threatened. 4/
So earlier this summer we saw nuclear infrastructure in Iran catch fire and blow up. And now massive explosions in Beirut that likely eliminated major Hezbollah arms and explosives stockpiles. There may be a reason this stuff is happening. 5/
One possibility is that states in the region who are threatened by a return to Obama-Biden ME foreign policy are taking precautions. They are trying to weaken Iran and its advanced weapons projects as much as possible before a less friendly new admin takes over. 6/
As many of us said at the time, the Iran deal is terrible for peace and stability, because – to state the obvious – it empowers the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world with cash and room to maneuver. The Beirut explosion may be a result of exactly that instability.
Final thought: I have visited Beirut on several occasions. It's a beautiful and interesting city with many good people living there. Prayers for its residents. Most of them do not want to live like this, and are themselves victims of Iran and Hezbollah.
You can follow @NoahPollak.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: