On April 13, Iran fired hundreds of drones, rockets and missiles at Israel.

“So, let’s be straight,” said White House national security spokesperson John Kirby two days later. “Given the scale of this attack, Iran’s intent was clearly to cause significant destruction and casualties.”

I did notice in news photos that many of the Iranian projectiles were intercepted right over the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. If Israel, with critical help from the United States and Jordan, had not blown up the incoming bombs, the Temple Mount might well have suffered significant destruction. Judging from the photographic evidence, Iran seemed ready to rain significant destruction down on what’s often called Islam’s third-holiest site.

While Jerusalem stands as its capital, Israel consents to the Muslim holy places on the Temple Mount being managed and controlled by the “Waqf,” an 18-member committee appointed by the king of Jordan. When the Jordanian King Hussein wanted to replace the gold plates that cover the Dome of the Rock in the early 1990s, Israel agreed. Judging by actions taken, Israel values the sanctity of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque far more than Iran.

Apparently, Iran intended its missiles to cause significant casualties, as well as destruction, within Israel. Thanks to formidable air defenses, the only serious casualty in the Iranian attack was not a Jew but a 7-year-old Muslim Bedouin girl. (At last report, Amina Hassouna is breathing on her own but remains in intensive care.)

Iran’s disdain for Arab and Muslim lives carries over to Hamas, the terrorist group in Gaza it influences, finances and largely controls. Iran deemed the Hamas attack on Israel that killed over 1,200 people on Oct. 7 as a triumph of its “axis of resistance” strategy. That murder spree included Arabs as well as Jews among its casualties. It breaks my heart to see photographs of murdered children such as the four Alkra-an siblings and cousins who ranged in age from 11 to 14.

In Gaza itself, a critical part of Hamas’ strategy is to promote Arab civilian deaths.

It serves Hamas’ strategy, then, to have Arab Muslims civilians living in Gaza killed. They are not mere pawns in the game. They are involuntary martyrs.

While Iran and Hamas support the sacrifice of Arab and Muslim holy places and lives, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia do not. Jordan’s government stated it shot down Iranian drones and missiles crossing over its territory on the way to Israel in order to defend “the nation, its citizens, and its airspace and territory.”

Egypt borders on the Gaza Strip and in fact controlled it from 1948 to 1967. While Egypt still controls an access point for supplies to enter Gaza, the government steadfastly refuses to allow Gazans to take refuge in Egypt even amid the current war. It has even deployed tanks and troops to prevent it. The Egyptian government fears admitting Gazan refugees will allow Iran and Hamas to carry their brand of death and destruction across the border into Egypt.

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that if Iran obtains nuclear weapons, his country will seek to do the same. Saudi Arabia rejects what Iran stands for and sees it as an existential threat. Therefore, it provided intelligence to Israel to aid in fending off the Iranian air attack.

Those who advocate for Iran and Hamas are supporting their disregard for Muslim lives and holy places. Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia know better.