Skip to content 6/13/2025 Gain Insight on the Realities of the Current Israel-Iran Conflict Jun 13 · 59 min ...more
6/13/2025 Gain Insight on the Realities of the Current Israel-Iran Conflict
June 13, 2025 · 59 min
Overnight, Israel destroyed some of Iran’s military infrastructure that was intended to annihilate Israel. Guests from Israel and Lt. General Jerry Boykin offer insight and intelligence.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video June 13, 2025 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Overnight, Israel destroyed some of Iran’s military infrastructure that was intended to annihilate Israel. Guests from Israel and Lt. General Jerry Boykin offer insight and intelligence. ...more Show the full description Show less Overnight, Israel destroyed some of Iran’s military infrastructure that was intended to annihilate Israel. Guests from Israel and Lt. General Jerry Boykin offer insight and intelligence.
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In this video 0:00 Operation Rising Lion: Israel's Preemptive Strike18:35 The U.S. Response and Domestic Affairs29:35 Military Insights and Global Implications38:25 Prayers and Political Perspectives
Operation Rising Lion: Israel's Preemptive Strike 0:06 Welcome to the Washington Watch news desk. I'm Zachary Goll bringing you the latest news. Late last night, Israel launched a barrage of missile strikes against its enemy, Iran.0:18 According to president Donald Trump, more are on the way. Now Israel's attack targeted Iranian nuclear facilities and military personnel. This comes after months of0:29 negotiations for a nuclear deal between the US and Iran had seemingly stalled. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the strikes were necessary as Iran was growing dangerously close to obtaining0:41 nuclear weapons.0:43 Moments ago, Israel launched operation rising lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival. This0:55 operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat. For decades, the tyrants of Tehran have brazenly, openly called for Israel's destruction.1:07 They've backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a program to develop nuclear weapons. In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for 9 atom1:19 bombs.1:20 Now secretary of state Marco Rubio tried to distance the United States from the attacks, claiming the US had no direct involvement. President Trump offered a scorching warning to1:32
1:44 before there is nothing left. Now Israel is currently on high alert awaiting retaliation from Iran. Now back in the US where the battle for the streets of
1:56 Los Angeles continues. A US district judge ruled earlier this week that president Trump must return control of the California National Guard to governor Gavin Newsom, But
2:08 the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals slammed the brakes on the judge's decision, at least for now. The court ruled Trump still has control of the state's National Guard, pending a
2:19 decision by the court which meets on Tuesday. Now moving to our nation's capital, the House of Representatives voted to codify some of the Department of Government Efficiency's recommended
2:31 cuts in spending. In a vote generally along party lines, Republicans slashed funding for NPR and PBS. President Trump offered his endorsement for the bill, saying
2:43 NPR and PBS are a radical left disaster and 1000 percent against the Republican party. Republicans have long criticized the broadcasters in question for
2:55 their liberal bias. Remember NPR burying the Hunter Biden laptop story and PBS promoting transgenderism? Well, the taxpayer funded liberal propaganda
3:07 may be seeing its final days. Now also in DC is a rather rare display. The US army will hold a grandiose military parade to mark its 200 and
3:19 fiftieth anniversary. The festivities, which coincide with president Trump's birthday, will honor the history and service of the army and are expected to cost north of 40000000 dollars.
3:33 I just think it's amazing. We're gonna have a fantastic, June fourteenth parade flag day. It's gonna be an amazing day. We have tanks. We have, planes. We have all sorts of things,
3:45 and I think it's gonna be great. We're gonna celebrate our country for a change.
3:50 And, of course, demonstrators are already descending on DC for what they call no king protests. Trump warned they will be met with, quote, very big force
4:02 if they interfere with the celebration. Now 1 last thing, religion may be making a comeback in the US. According to a recent Gallup poll, 34 percent of Americans
4:14 believe that religious influence is actually growing. That's up 14 percent from last year. Conversely, only 59 percent of Americans believe religious influence is diminishing,
4:26 which is a precipitous drop from 75 percent the previous year. And those are today's headlines. I'm Zachary Goll. Up next is Washington Watch with guest
4:38 host Jody Heiss. We'll be back next week with more stories that matter.
4:51 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and
5:03 newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.
5:09 In the past 24 hours, we've taken out top military commanders, senior nuclear scientists, the Islamic regime's most significant enrichment facility, and a large
5:21 portion of its ballistic missile arsenal. More is on the way. The regime doesn't know what hit them. They don't know what will hit them.
5:33 Well, that was Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today after Israel launched Operation Rising Lion to counter the imminent and existential threat posed
5:44 by Iran. Welcome to this Friday edition of Washington Watch. I am Jody Heise. Thank you so much for joining us, and we've got a lot to cover today. After days
5:56 of chatter about Israel's potential strike on Iran, it finally happened earlier this morning, local time, last night, depending on where you live. But Israel says they really had no
6:08 choice.
6:09 Israel uncovered clear evidence that the Iranian regime was planning a surprise attack in coordination with their proxies. A surprise attack with a nuclear strike,
6:21 which Iran was preparing for, would have been terminal. Israel could not and would not wait for that moment to arrive.
6:33 That was Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Dunne, earlier today, and I'll discuss the latest on the attacks and Iran's response when I'm joined by CBN
6:45 News Middle East Bureau chief Chris Mitchell in just a little while. I'll also get a reaction from Doctor. AJ Nolte, who's the director of the Institute for Israel
6:57 Studies at Regent University, who is live right now in Jerusalem as well as Chris Mitchell. So a lot coming from Israel today. And just how
7:08 significant is Operation Rising Lion and what has it accomplished so far? We'll get the latest read on that from retired lieutenant general Jerry Boykin, who's FRC's
7:20 executive vice president and, of course, former deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence. And while many support Israel's preemptive strike, there are always those who are quick
7:32 to condemn the Jewish nation and not those who seek to annihilate them.
7:37 The secretary general condemns any military escalation in the Middle East. He is particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran. The secretary general asks
7:49 both sides to show maximum restraint, avoiding a toll costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford.
8:01 Well, that was UN spokespersons Alessandra Velucci reiterating a statement from the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres. So a lot
8:13 happening right now. And, of course, you know what the Middle East and the rest of the world absolutely cannot afford. Well, that's a that would be a radical regime that wants not only to cleanse the world of Israel,
8:25 but also they would love to cleanse the world of the United States. So why is there so much criticism against Israel
8:38 Well, I'll discuss this later on the program when Tony Perkins himself joins me. So as always, we've got a lot, a lot to bring your way. You don't want to miss any part of it. Our
8:50 website, of course, is tony perkins dot com. If you miss any portion of today's program, you can get it there, as well as a lot of other resources. Again, that's tony perkins dot com.
9:02 So, alright, the conflict between Israel and Iran continues to unfold even as we speak. Updates from the IDF show that, Iran is
9:14 unleashing more attacks and retaliation for last night's targeted strikes by Israel. And so we wanna get the latest on those attacks, but also how the US is
9:25 responding to these attacks and what impact might they have on talks between the US and Iran, which were scheduled at least to take place this Sunday. So here to discuss this
9:37 and more is Doctor. AJ Nolte. As I said a while ago, he is the director of the Institute for Israel Studies at Regent University And absolutely, in fact, he's coming live to
9:49 us from Jerusalem right now. Absolutely a scholar on this. Doctor Nolte, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to have you.
9:58 Great to be here, Jody. And as, they say over here, Shabbat Shalom. It's right just past midnight here in, in the old city of Jerusalem, and I'm glad glad to be with you.
10:07 Well, thank you so much for staying up. I know there's a lot going on. First of all, we pray for you and the others in Jerusalem and Israel and this whole thing and just pray safety on you and the entire
10:19 nation. Let's begin with your take on last night's strikes by Israel. It's pretty fascinating, military, maneuver that they pulled off.
10:31 Yeah. Sometimes it's evident when you see something like this that it's been planned for a while. The fact that Israel was able to go in, hit Natanz, which was
10:43 the major, nuclear site, that they hit as hard as they did, hit other sites, around Tehran. And and now we're getting confirmations of some of the
10:55 major military figures they took out. I've heard reports that the air force strike was matched with con let's just say considerable
11:06 Israeli, intelligence assets on the ground that were deployed very effectively. And so, I think Israel has had the infrastructure in place for this for quite a while, the
11:18 planning, all of that kind of stuff. And they were looking for, a specific trigger, and and, you know, I think a confluence of factors led them to decide this was the time when
11:30 they had the opportunity to act and and when also they had to act.
11:36 Yes. And, you know, even as we speak, Israel's in the process of intercepting Iranian missiles, with the help of the US, I might add. And, of course, Iran also
11:48 had a a drone attack earlier as we all know. But, Israel is saying that Iran has crossed the red line because they're now seemingly targeting civilian centers. I
12:00 mean, it really doctor Nolte, could the contrast be any more clear than it? I mean, you've got Israel, which is fighting to defend life and defend itself while Iran and its proxies are fighting to kill.
12:12 Yeah.
12:13 I can confirm. We were at dinner with, friends. They've they had lifted, home front commander had lifted the shelter in place. And so we, we we
12:24 actually had been on tour for a while. We needed to, to do laundry, and some friends offered us to, get get dinner and and and go for laundry. And then we actually saw, people saw and I could hear,
12:37 from where we were, the, missiles coming into the interceptors going. I can confirm. I don't wanna talk too much about locations because the IDF is isn't just wanna keep that close held because they don't
12:49 want Iran to know what was successful and what was not. But I can confirm that at least some of the some of the areas were very clearly targeting civilian areas, not military targets,
13:01 and, pretty pretty widespread in different regions of the country. So, yes, it is it is a pretty stark contrast. The the
13:12 sense that I got just being here and being in the middle of it is that, perhaps Iran is is firing everything they've got, you know, just just firing what they have, as they as they have it. I can tell
13:24 you the drone what we were told over here was, Israeli time was gonna be sometime between maybe, 1 30 and 2 30. And, you know, normally, if there's something coming in, you
13:36 hear a siren. It sounds the siren sounds basically like if for a listener from the mid from the Midwest, sounds like a tornado siren. And there's no way you can miss it. And the drones, I think, didn't even get close
13:46 because we didn't even we didn't hear anything. But there were absolutely multiple waves of miss missiles. I can confirm people I was with saw them. We could hear them, and they were certainly not, head toward military
13:57 targets.
13:59 Well, reportedly, the US is now moving a couple of destroyers to the Eastern Mediterranean. Does this indicate, at least from your perspective, that the US could potentially become
14:11 more involved in this
14:13 war? I think there was a very clear statement from the United States earlier, and sometimes you have to carefully parse this. So the statement that we heard, I think, was from president Trump. And I
14:25 apologize. It might have been, secretary of state Rubio. Not sure which, but but they said, the United States will not be involved in Israel's offensive operations. Now if you know anything about the military
14:37 side, you'll notice a huge gap there, and the gap is it says offensive. Does it say anything about defensive? And so the United States and I think, you know, I think we're gonna see, if people
14:48 remember the coalition that, stopped Iran from hitting Israel in the past, when Iran struck the first time.
14:56 I
14:56 think you're going to see a similar coalition perhaps, maybe some different actors. It's it's hard to say, but I I I do think the US is gonna be involved for sure in in stopping Iranian retaliation. I think
15:08 also there's a signaling fact, president Trump has made it very clear in his statements to Iran, you need to negotiate or else. And I think, you know, president Trump is is certainly wanting to add more leverage as well.
15:22 So Yep. Absolutely.
15:24 That's where we are right now.
15:25 Yeah. Let me come back to that. Let me come back to that in just a a moment. But with all of the I I think certainly the US would get involved if any US, bases
15:37 or troops or whatever are targeted. Obviously, that would change things. But what do you think I'd love your opinion on whether or not this is an open door for Israel to attack Iran's
15:49 oil assets. Is that becoming a likelihood as, Iran continues to retaliate?
15:57 Yeah. I think that's up to Iran. Are they gonna escalate? Are they gonna continue with the barrages? Eventually, Israel's gonna run out of nuclear sites to hit. And so at a certain point,
16:09 I think, you know, Trump president Trump was very clear that Iran needs to make a choice.
16:13 Yeah.
16:13 And and and I think we'll we'll we'll know that very soon because if Iran continues to fire as they did tonight, you know, these barages at Israel, I think the Israelis are going to continue to respond. And what we've
16:25 seen thus far in every exchange between Israel and Iran since October seventh directly is that Israel is a lot more effective than Iran. You know, obviously, it's it's a it's a little disconcerting being on the
16:37 ground. But if you look at it just from a purely pragmatic perspective, Israel is doing a a much better job of intercepting anything coming from Iran than Iran is, and Israel strikes have been a lot more
16:49 effective.
16:51 So going back to what you mentioned a while ago as far as, the the, really, choice being in Iran's corner right now, it appears as our reports are at least coming out that they have or
17:02 going to back out of the negotiations that were scheduled for this weekend. What do you think of that? Are the talks dead, or do you think there's any chance that they could still resume?
17:15 I'm not sure. I mean, I think I think for Ron to pull out would be a mistake because, basically, president Trump coming up with with some sort of deal is probably the only
17:27 chance they have of, you know, getting Israel to to stop. I mean, what some of the messaging that we're hearing from the Israeli government is that this is just the beginning from their perspective.
17:38 And today was a a very heavy first day, but they're not telling people, like you know, they're they're not saying this is gonna be over tomorrow or this is gonna be quick. They're saying, you know, this they they will go
17:49 on as long as it takes, and and they're saying this is just the beginning. So I think if Iran wants to stop paying on them, I think they almost certainly will
18:01 need to do some sort of, off ramp, and the only way they're getting that is probably talks with further now.
18:09 Wow. So, we've only got a couple of seconds here, but, any chance do you think, Iran does back down?
18:17 I think it's unlikely. Ideologically, you know, I think I think they're they're still locked in for just, you know, the this fight with Israel. In the same way that Israel's been preparing militarily, I think I think
18:28 Iran may may continue to escalate, but, you know, we'll see what happens in the next 28 hours.
The U.S. Response and Domestic Affairs
18:35 Doctor Ajay Nolte, director of the Institute of Israel Studies, Regent University. Stay safe. God bless you, and thank you for joining us. Next, I'll be joined by CBN News Middle East Bureau chief Chris Mitchell. He also
18:47 coming from Israel. Stay tuned.
18:51 Hi, everyone. This is pastor Jay Johnston, national prayer director with the Family Research Council. I wanna invite you to join our 21 day family bible challenge as we read
19:03 through the book of Matthew. This is an opportunity for you and for your family to come together for 15 minutes a day to read God's word together. Deuteronomy
19:15 6 says, these commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you
19:27 lie down and when you get up. Seek the word of God, obey the word of God, share the word of God so that you and others might know the joy of walking with God now
19:39 and for all eternity. As your family gathers to read the Bible, invite the Holy Spirit to work in your life to spiritually transform each 1 of you.
19:51 Ask the Lord to show you creative ways for you to connect with your family, to read God's word together. I pray that however God uses this challenge in your
20:03 life and those that you join together with will be a blessing to you and strengthen you as you read the gospel of Matthew together. Visit f r c dot o r g
20:15 slash family bible challenge for more information.
20:22 In a time when Washington seems clouded by compromise, a bold group of lawmakers are standing firm in defense of the values which our nation was built upon. At FRC Action's
20:33 100 percent awards, 171 members of congress were honored for voting 100 percent in line with policies that promote faith, family, and freedom.
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21:00 It's very important for us to have organizations such as FRC. First of all, I think it keeps us grounded. In addition to which, the issues that you champion are issues that we should all be championing.
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21:54 Welcome back to Washington Watch. I am your Friday host, Jody Hice. So glad to have you joining us today. Alright. I'm sure we've all seen it by now. Israel's attacks on targeted Iranian
22:06 facilities appears to be an amazing and major success. In addition to the facilities themselves, the IDF has confirmed the death of multiple Iranian
22:18 officials as a result of all the attacks. But at the same time, obviously, the threat of an aggressive Iranian counterattack looms heavily over Israel. So how are those in Israel
22:30 right now reacting to both the strike and the subsequent possibility of more war? Well, here to discuss this is Chris Mitchell. He is the Middle East Bureau Chief at
22:42 CBN News. Chris, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thank you so much for staying up and for joining us.
22:49 Great to be with you, Jody.
22:51 Alright. Well, let's begin. Chris, are you safe to begin with? And then beyond that, what can you tell us about the situation as it's unfolding there?
23:01 Well, the situation is unfolding as we speak, Jody. As we prayed before we got on here, we are under the Psalm 91 protection right now. There were sirens that went off here in,
23:13 Jerusalem just about 30 minutes ago. Apparently, Iran has launched about a hundred ballistic missiles towards, Israel. We understand, and I've just been watching, some of the
23:25 news. I think 5 have hit, Tel Aviv. That's all preliminary, and there are some, injuries, right now. But it's called severe punishment. That's the name of the retaliation
23:37 by, Iran right now. And but as to your point, what you're saying, it's an amazing, military operation that Israel has been unfolding for the last
23:49 nearly 20 hours right now. Some people call it epic. The intelligence has been precise. The operation has been extraordinary where dozens, if not hundreds,
24:01 of Israeli planes have gone nearly a thousand miles or more to, to hit many of the Iranian nuclear facilities, including the Tans, 1 of their main
24:13 uranium enrichment facilities that's been dramatically, destroyed. Also, we know today they have been attacking Fordow and Natanz, 2 other major,
24:27 new nuclear facilities here, there in, in Iran. They've also knocked out much of the air defense systems of Iran, ballistic missiles. Certainly, not the ones that have been fired, but much of the
24:38 ballistic missile capability has been degraded as well. And as you said, some of the top leaders have been eliminated. Maybe 20 of the top, leaders of the IRGC and the Iranian
24:50 military. Just an extraordinary operation that's been, years, literally years in the planning, Jody. You know, the Iranian nuclear program hit the world stage
25:02 in 2002, 23 years ago. And now we are finally Israel is finally, after months of speculation and years of planning,
25:14 hit Iran's nuclear facilities. And just let me add, last night, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to the western wall. He put a note in the wall, and it was from Numbers
25:26 chapter 23 verse 24. And I'll quote, it says, he shall rise up like a lion and lift him like a lioness. And the name of the operation is called operation rising
25:37 lion.
25:39 Yes. I was reading that passage. I I'd heard that that he had done that and was reading that passage before we came on and, powerful. I'll actually have Tony on a little bit later, and we'll talk
25:51 about that in greater detail. But this is a continuing unfolding story, and the attacks on Tel Aviv, as you mentioned, maybe still taking place as we speak. But Iran
26:03 also responded with the drone attacks after Israel, attacked the the strategic sites this morning. What happened, Chris, in that attack, and how is the nation
26:15 reacting?
26:17 Well, in that attack, Jody, there was about a hundred drones that were fired. Most all of them were, eliminated or shot down before they even got to Israeli airspace. So that particular
26:29 retaliation by Iran didn't, succeed very well. But on the other hand, Israel's attacks not only against the nuclear facilities, as I said, but they actually were able to
26:41 penetrate into Iranian territory with Mossad agents who had actually built apparently, or established drones and, missiles inside Iranian territory
26:53 to to be operated as soon as they gave the go ahead, which was last night. And, obviously, there had been sort of a maybe a deception program or
27:05 policy in the last several days, several weeks. People were wondering, are they gonna have negotiations? Are they gonna succeed? Is is, Israel gonna attack? Nobody quite knew exactly what was gonna
27:16 happen except, I'm sure, people in the White House and here in Israel.
27:23 I understand that Israel now is in a state of an emergency following the attacks as well they should be. And I at the same time, as as you kind of referenced, I would think that's not all that terribly uncommon.
27:35 But for those of us here in the states, what does that mean, a state of emergency? Does life continue on, or does everything shut down? What does it mean for the people there in Israel?
27:45 Well, right now, Jody, it pretty well shuts down. There was no work today. Schools were closed, obviously. People are instructed right now to shelter in place, especially because of these,
27:57 ballistic missiles that have been fired at, at Israel. It means you're likely to get an alert about 10 minutes before, missiles may reach, Israeli airspace.
28:09 And, and so the sirens go all over the country, and that means you have to, just find a shelter, go to a bomb shelter. Just outside the street here where I'm at, Jody, there's hardly
28:20 any traffic, and, and so people are just staying in place right now, staying put, and trying to stay safe.
28:28 Only about a minute left, Chris. The nuclear talks, I just saw before we came on. Looks like they may be called off right now, but that is not confirmed. What can you tell us on that front?
28:41 President Trump has said Iran missed their chance. What do you expect as far as future talks are concerned?
28:47 I doubt they're gonna happen, Jody, but, president Trump is still opening the door for negotiations. He says they still have an opportunity to to go to the negotiating table, stop their nuclear
28:59 program, but, it doesn't look like that's gonna happen the way Iran is acting right now. But, we'll see what happens. And I just an encouragement, Jody, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
29:11 Pray for wisdom for prime minister Netanyahu, president Trump, and all, the, leaders or the advisers for both leaders. It's a very, very important time to be praying.
29:23 Absolutely. And we are calling on people to do just that. In fact, we have a prayer pledged to that end. Thank you, Chris Mitchell, CBN News Middle East Bureau chief. Thank you. God bless you. Stay safe.Show more
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