For decades, Iran has called America "the Great Satan" — while killing hundreds of Americans. During that same period, it pursued nuclear weapons relentlessly.
Intelligence gathered during the Biden administration confirmed Iran had accumulated an unprecedented stockpile of enriched uranium — far more than any country without nuclear weapon ambitions would need. The US even offered to supply Iran with enriched uranium for domestic energy, since that was Iran's stated justification for its entire program. They still said no.
Beyond nuclear weapons, Iran developed highly advanced ballistic missiles and drones. Those weapons fueled Russia's war in Ukraine, were used in direct attacks on Israel, and — had Iran achieved intercontinental ballistic missile capability by 2035, as projected by American intelligence — could have eventually struck American soil within minutes.
The question was never whether Iran was an enemy or a threat. For a regime hell-bent on funding terrorism and viewing America as the world's greatest evil, the US was always either a direct target or a nation to work against through weapons production and proxy militia forces.
Nor was the question whether America could take out Iran's offensive capabilities. Even Pat Buchanan — perhaps the most prominent American isolationist — once acknowledged that America could take out Iran "in an afternoon."
So what was the real question? Maybe there wasn't one. Perhaps the only obstacle was a lack of initiative — and overcoming the psychological weight of military action after the trauma of Iraq.
President Donald Trump had long maintained that Iran would never be permitted to have nuclear weapons, and that he would act on that promise. When diplomacy failed, the US — working alongside Mossad and a reinvigorated CIA — executed a plan to rapidly eliminate Iran's leadership and dismantle its weapons program.
The President stated that the goal of this operation is to destroy Iran's offensive capabilities and its “ability to project power beyond its borders.” He said it could take a month or more — but two days in, that goal already appears within reach, and the results speak for themselves.
Iran's entire leadership — from its military command to the proxies responsible for the October 7 massacre (which also killed and kidnapped Americans) — has been decapitated.
The US and Israel now enjoy full air superiority over Iran, conducting systematic strikes against its offensive infrastructure. The ripple effects extend beyond the region: China, which relied on Iranian oil through back channels, has lost a critical supply line — making a move on Taiwan less viable. And Russia, which depended heavily on Iranian drones and missiles, is now running short in Ukraine.
Iran’s enemies in the region are also now supporting the allied efforts after the regime fired missiles at them, in hopes the attacks would pressure America to stop. Can you imagine if the regime had nuclear weapons?
These operations always come at a cost. American blood has tragically already been shed. But they are not in vain. Nearly a thousand Americans have been killed by the Iranian regime over the years, and tens of thousands more around the world have died as a result of its terror funding.
There is already room for celebration, though, of course, we should be wary. What comes next in Iran is uncertain. Will a more extreme, evil regime rise from the chaos? That seems hard to imagine, given that the current regime slaughtered an estimated 30,000 of its own citizens. Will instability plague the country? Possibly.
What is clear is this: justice has been delivered to one of the most demonstrably evil regimes in modern history. As the White House noted, Iran has killed more Americans than any other terrorist regime on Earth — and now, that threat is gone.
