In a revelation that blends psychological warfare with symbolic military strategy, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that one of the targeted objectives during Israel’s recent confrontation with Iran was not a nuclear site or a military base — but a giant digital clock in Palestine Square, at the heart of Tehran.
Known as Iran’s “Doomsday Clock,” the structure counts down to the year 2040 — the date set by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the destruction of Israel. According to Haaretz military and intelligence analyst Yossi Melman, Israeli air forces were tasked with striking the clock, recording the moment, and broadcasting the footage both in Israel and internationally as part of a psychological operation aimed at sending a powerful symbolic message.
However, the operation failed — the airstrike missed its mark.
Katz Insisted, But Trump Called It Off
Despite the failed attempt, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on destroying the clock. Preparations were made for a second strike on the final day of the war. But just before it could be carried out, U.S. President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire, forcing Israeli warplanes to return to their bases and cancelling all remaining planned strikes, including the clock.
A Clock That Tells More Than Time
Installed in 2017, the digital clock has been counting down to 2040 — the year when, according to a speech by Khamenei, Israel would cease to exist. Haaretz, a left-leaning Tel Aviv-based newspaper, described the structure as a propaganda tool that embodies the regime’s deep ideological opposition to the existence of the Israeli state.
Destroying the clock, Melman noted, would have delivered a symbolic message: halting the countdown toward Israel’s annihilation would be akin to stopping time — and with it, stopping Iran’s vision of Israel’s destruction.
Symbolic Importance, Minimal Operational Value
Melman emphasized that the failure to strike the clock has no operational impact, but its symbolic weight is undeniable. Israel’s leadership, he suggests, could have capitalized on such an image to boost psychological morale. Nevertheless, he argued, the war — despite its limited gains — has opened a strategic window for Israel, especially with the support it received from the United States and other Western powers.
A Strategic Moment for Diplomatic Shifts
According to the analysis, Israel now has an opportunity to translate its war gains into lasting geopolitical arrangements that ensure its long-term survival — effectively defying the narrative set by the Iranian countdown clock.
Melman believes that Israel could pursue diplomatic understandings, or even peace agreements, across the six fronts where it has been engaged in conflict since October 7, 2023: Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.
Two primary paths are outlined:
- The first involves initiating a gradual and partial solution to the Palestinian issue, which could trigger a wave of positive reactions across the Arab and Islamic worlds.
- The second suggests seeking informal or indirect understandings with Iran that might curb Tehran’s and its proxies’ increasingly aggressive actions against Israel.
Netanyahu and the Burden of Ideology
Melman concludes by reflecting on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ideological background. He sees Netanyahu as a man driven not only by political considerations but also by a worldview inherited from his late father, the historian Benzion Netanyahu — a staunch opponent of territorial compromise and peace deals with Israel’s neighbors.
Like his father, Netanyahu is described as a pessimist who believes that permanent war is Israel’s fate — a belief that, intentionally or not, aligns with his political goals.
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