As four more American families grieve the deaths of soldiers killed in the war on Iran, one of the top-ranking ministers in Israel's cabinet told an Israeli audience that having America do all the fighting and dying is "the best for us." Israel had intensely lobbied President Trump to launch a joint war on Iran on Feb 22, and traded blows with Iran up until early June. Since Trump restarted intense, daily bombardment of Iran 11 days ago, however, Israel has sat out the action, sparing Israelis from lethal Iranian retaliation.
“The State of Israel has no interest in joining the contained confrontation between Iran and the United States," far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a session at the Katif Conference for National Responsibility, which endorses Jewish settlement in Palestinian territories. "The current situation is the best one for us.”
Bezalel Smotrich leads the Religious Zionism party and wants Israel to annex the West Bank and Gaza (MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)Smotrich is generally regarded as the second-most powerful cabinet member in Israel, and is a vital linchpin in Netanyahu's government that took power in January 2023. Lacking an outright majority, Netanyahu was forced to build a ruling coalition that gives unprecedented power to religious and ultra-nationalist extremists. Smotrich leads the Religious Zionism party. He personally aspires to make Israel a theocracy, wants Israel to annex the West Bank and Gaza while barring most Palestinians from citizenship, and has said it would be "just and moral" to starve two million Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza.
In his latest remarks, Smotrich candidly acknowledged that Israel and the United States have different goals vis a vis Iran, but said America's continued military engagement furthers the Israeli agenda. “[We] must remember that the ultimate goal of Israel, and not necessarily the United States, is to undermine and weaken the regime in Iran – to the point of overthrowing it,” Smotrich said.
Army SGT Michael Swinton was killed July 19 when a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone went terribly wrong (Mia Gonzalez-Swinton via Guardian)Disregarding the widespread victimization of innocents that the strategy entails, Smotrich said destruction of Iran's economy will help precipitate the Iranian government's collapse. "Currently, inflation in Iran is at 85 percent, food inflation of over 134 percent in a total of four months, and the Iranian rial is trading at an exchange rate of 1.9 million to the dollar - and it's going up." He then reiterated that "the current situation is good for us, and there's no point in pushing ourselves inward."
Footage of the Iranian ballistic missile strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan last night.
At least two missiles hit the base, killing two American service members. pic.twitter.com/8tOm6yyXwe
Here's how Israeli journalist Hagai Amit recently described the benefits of Israel allowing the United States to plunge forward alone in the war that Israel urged America to start:
It reduces the risk of [Israeli] casualties and allows daily life to continue largely as normal, without midnight sirens, trips to bomb shelters or major disruptions. The Finance Ministry is also relieved not to have to burden the state budget with billions of additional shekels for air operations and the interception of ballistic missiles.
Meanwhile, as Amit warmly describes the cost savings for Israel, various analysts say America's cost of the Iran quagmire is now close to or even exceeding $100 billion, which is upwards of triple what the Pentagon has owned up to at this point.
1LT Tyler Feehan and PVT Isabella Gonzales were two of three Army soldiers killed in the Iranian strike on US forces at base in JordanOf course, the highest price is being paid by American service members who've been thrown into an unconstitutionally-initiated war launched on false premises. Four more US soldiers have been killed since Trump re-escalated the war. In addition to US Army SGT Michael Swinton being killed in Iraq when a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone went wrong, three more soldiers were killed in an Iranian strike that hit prefabricated housing units at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
Initially, the Pentagon confirmed only two fatalities in Jordan: 19-year-old PVT Isabella Gonzales and 1LT Tyler Feehan. The third was classified as MIA, but the Pentagon is now saying SGT Angel Rampersad is "believed to be deceased." The grim implication is that Rampersad's body was devastated by an Iranian missile -- nearly five months after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that Iran's military had been "made combat-ineffective," and almost two months after Sen. Ted Cruz said US forces had "destroy[ed] all of their missiles and drones."
Tyler Durden Wed, 07/22/2026 - 12:05Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,
Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC just announced a $6.2 billion final investment decision to develop the Umm Shaif Gas Cap project in Abu Dhabi as part of its strategy to grow its global gas portfolio.
ADNOC will develop the project alongside its international partners - France’s TotalEnergies, Italy’s Eni, and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
The final investment decision (FID) includes three engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) packages totaling $5.1 billion for large-scale offshore infrastructure awarded by ADNOC to consortiums including major UAE and international contractors. The development also includes a $365 million 14-well drilling and integrated drilling services program to be delivered by ADNOC Drilling over 18 months using three existing rigs.
The green light for the development of Umm Shaif Gas Cap follows last month’s agreement in which ADNOC let BP and TotalEnergies take 10% each in the consortium developing one of Abu Dhabi’s largest gas fields—the Bab Gas Cap project in Abu Dhabi.
The Bab Cap Gas concession is expected to support UAE’s plan to become gas self-sufficient and domestic feedstock production, as well as ADNOC’s liquefied natural gas export expansion plans.
The new project, Umm Shaif Gas Cap, is the latest milestone in the company’s gas growth strategy and will unlock more than 600 million standard cubic feet per day (scfd) of natural gas and associated gas liquids, equivalent to almost 10% of the UAE’s current daily gas consumption, ADNOC said today. Production from the development is expected by 2030.
“ADNOC is accelerating its integrated gas strategy to further harness the UAE's vast gas resources and expand our global LNG platform, as global demand for natural gas continues to rise,” said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO.
Earlier this month, ADNOC Logistics and Services placed a $900-million order for four newbuild LNG carriers to expand its fleet as Abu Dhabi’s national oil company seeks to boost gas exports to seize the global rise in LNG demand.
Tyler Durden Wed, 07/22/2026 - 11:30