A recent report states that 21 hours of negotiations with Iranian leaders, arranged last Sunday by Pakistan under Vice President JD Vance, failed to reach common ground on key demands set by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Those provisions include abandoning nuclear weapons ambitions, terminating sponsorship of terrorist proxies, and ensuring free passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This strait provides 20% of all global oil production.
We might consider such requirements reasonable and essential. For example, thanks to the joint U.S.-Israeli mission “Midnight Hammer,” the Iranian Islamic Republic is no longer days or weeks away from producing enough weapons-grade uranium and rapidly expanding its long-range ballistic delivery systems capable of executing their declaration: “Death to the Great Satan, America!”
Iran has treated this as an obsession, resulting in the murder of more U.S. citizens than any other regime in the past 50 years. Since 1979, the Islamic Republic and its proxies have made killing Americans among their highest priorities. Hezbollah terrorists killed more than 200 Marines on October 23, 1983, in Beirut, Lebanon. Additionally, 600 American service members were killed by Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
The nation’s 47th commander in chief has made it clear that U.S. military actions are not, as some pundits claim, primarily about protecting Israel or “regime change.” Previously, Trump declared: “Regime change was not our goal. We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because all of their original leaders have died.” Rather, these actions are being taken to ensure America and its allies will never be held hostage to Iranian control over global shipping lanes and nuclear extortion.
Nevertheless, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., recently posted on (Twitter)/X: “This war has made us worse off than when it started.” Subsequently, speaking from the U.S. Senate floor, Schumer jibed: “This is a war of choice, not necessity … We are sick and tired of endless wars in the Middle East.”
The Washington Post cheered that “Trump’s central war objective remains unmet,” while the New York Times labeled his actions a “blow to American credibility.” Nor has the “Epic Fury” war dragged on. The military timetable originally projected four to six weeks, with the major combat phase lasting only 38 days and a declared cease-fire around April 8.
For three decades since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat presidents alike have condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against American citizens, interests, and allies but have accomplished nothing to stop it. Being nice hasn’t succeeded, nor has talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreements, or economic sanctions.
Barack Obama’s “Lead from Behind” strategy unleashed chaos in Libya, permitting Syria to cross its chemical weapons red line. Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s catastrophic exit from Afghanistan (part of the greater Middle East) was an epic U.S. humiliation. President Trump applied a different strategy: felling the supreme leader and 40 of his top associates within the first moments of the war.
Unquestionably, Trump made it clear from the beginning that this is a war to protect America, not Israel, while the two countries fight side-by-side. However, other major American allies—including NATO members who depend heavily on the Strait of Hormuz oil—have decided to sit out the conflict, even denying use of air bases on their soil.
Without them, within a month, a mighty joint force with Israel dismantled one of the world’s largest militaries. More than 13,000 targeted strikes—including at least 2,000 launched from Israel—reduced Iran’s air defense systems to rubble and destroyed its ballistic missile and attack drone stockpiles. Of Iran’s naval fleet, 90% was destroyed, sending 158 ships to the bottom of the sea.
This followed decisive U.S. leadership and flawless military execution of Massive Ordinance Penetrators dropped from B-2 stealth bombers on uranium facilities during Operation “Midnight Hammer” last July, which left Iran’s air defenses weakened and key nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan destroyed or badly damaged.
Add to this the stealthy U.S. special force operations that extracted Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela; he now sits in a Brooklyn jail cell. Meanwhile, Trump oversaw the rescue of two airmen in Iranian territory without loss of life.
As for Senator Schumer’s assertion of U.S. “loss of credibility,” all this has instead demonstrated the potency of American military prowess and technology to Russia, China, and the world. The Trump administration’s war of attrition against Tehran can only end with firm assurances that America and its allies will never be held hostage to nuclear extortion or a stranglehold on Strait of Hormuz international shipping lanes.
Ceding control of a vital waterway and resources necessary for billions of people’s prosperity to a fanatical and bloodthirsty regime is a recipe for permanent upheaval. Rather than cheer for U.S. defeat, wouldn’t it be much more refreshing to see Democrats and anti-Trump media finally credit the only U.S. president that has proven willing to wage an effective war against Tehran tyranny threatening the economy and security of the free world over nearly half a century?
