Operation Epic Fury
When Operation Epic Fury opened with the stunning decapitation of the brutal Iranian Theocracy and its autocratic Supreme Leader, the survivors faced a Persian precipice of systematic military, political, and economic dismantlement. Forty-seven years of medieval terror, culminating in nuclear blackmail, is approaching a violent demise. However, as losses mount, the regime’s shaken remnants retreat into a predictable game plan. They burrow underground, extort the global economy, attack their neighbors, and manipulate reliable political and media enablers. Their calculation is that the historically feckless Washington intelligentsia and Europe will rescue them. Indeed, some in America openly support them, while NATO and Asian allies remarkably abstain. Meanwhile, word comes that the de facto surviving leader, Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, along with gangster Basij Commander Gholamreza Soleimani and intelligence chief Esmael Khatib, all soaked in the blood of their own people, have also been eliminated, along with many deputies.
Strait of Hormuz
An audacious threat to block the Strait of Hormuz aims to pressure President Trump into prematurely ending the war, allowing the regime remnants to survive. So far, Washington has not, in the famous words of the late Margaret Thatcher, gone wobbly. In fact, the United States has attacked military targets on Kharg Island and threatens to assault or seize Iran’s essential oil export terminal. Meanwhile, the regime remnants contradictorily bluster that they control which tankers may or may not pass while simultaneously threatening to indiscriminately mine the waters, which is an equal-opportunity hazard. But as its shattered command aimlessly flails a depleted missile and drone inventory, the handwriting is on the wall. Allied forces have obliterated strategic infrastructure and are removing the naval threat. And they are methodically preparing the ground for the Iranian people to take back their nation.
Objective Reality
Even the most ardent advocates of accommodation with Tehran now face an objective reality. Although weakened, Tehran has attempted to close international waters and has attacked its neighbors. Imagine the leverage the Theocracy would have if it had been allowed to amass countless more missiles or nuclear weapons. By threatening to scuttle the global economy, the regime’s survivors are playing their only hand left. But if President Trump has the nerve to finish the job despite political discomfort with temporarily higher energy prices, the regime in Tehran is checkmated. Curiously, Trump’s critics overlook Iran’s disastrous negotiating posture in Geneva, which was to brazenly threaten that, despite Operation Midnight Hammer, it had stashed 460kg of 60% enriched uranium, or enough for eleven nuclear weapons. Bluff or otherwise, this was a suicidal miscalculation. The United States and Israel were compelled to act and must now locate, seize, or destroy the stockpile.
Conventional Wisdom
Tehran’s claim that it had “an inalienable right” to continue producing weapons-grade nuclear materials is another blow to the mythology of how we came to this point. Despite the appeasement and enticement practiced by Obama and Biden-era diplomats John Kerry and Anthony Blinken, Iran never ceased its pursuit of nuclear weapons. In short, the conventional wisdom that the Obama Administration had contained Iran before Trump fouled everything up by withdrawing from the JCPOA nuclear deal is misleading partisan nonsense. In 2002, Israel exposed Iran’s secret fortified nuclear sites. The same year, Iran violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by testing a nuclear implosion device. After the United States invaded Iraq, American intelligence imagined that Iran had abandoned weaponization. Then, in 2018, Israel captured Iran’s secret nuclear archives, which proved that Iran had concealed its intentions by decentralizing and dispersing nuclear weaponization.
The Mirage
The United States discovered in 2009 that Iran had built a fortified facility deep under a mountain near Qom. This became known as Fordow. Although international inspectors were not made aware of it, Iran deceitfully claimed the purpose of the site was peaceful. Nevertheless, President Obama was determined to overlook the evidence and enter a nuclear pact with Iran. Discussions dragged on for years. As Tehran stalled, the regime continued unabated enrichment, repression of its people, and international terror. Their objective was to skirt international sanctions and preserve and legitimize their nuclear program. After receiving unilateral concessions and financial tribute from Obama, Iran agreed to the deal, which was, in fact, a non-verifiable mirage.
Mixed Messages
President Obama and his advisors allowed continued enrichment and an infrastructure that could achieve weapons-grade when Tehran chose to do so. Iran received an immediate $30 billion in sanctions relief. They allowed Iran to operate its fortified sites and to maintain 5,000 centrifuges at Natanz. And they gave up on snap inspections by the IAEA. The regime did not even have to document past nuclear activities. The JCPOA’s various provisions sunset in lengths of five to fifteen years. The deal did nothing to curb Iran’s hostile behavior or proxy terror networks. In 2018, President Trump withdrew from the deal and accelerated sanctions. If he had not done so, Tehran would now be dealing from a position of strength, arguably nuclear-armed. Then, President Biden and his advisors reversed course in 2021, with the objectives of restoring the JCPOA and eliminating oil sanctions.
Fatal Error
Predictably, a refreshed and rejuvenated Tehran took advantage of its good fortune. Pretending to negotiate, the regime accelerated its uranium enrichment to a weapons-grade threshold. As the IAEA finally admitted in 2025, Tehran hid nuclear material and repeatedly lied to inspectors. Then came the infamous morning of October 7, 2023, and the bloody proxy attack on Israel. When Israel fought back, Iran directly attacked Israel. With President Trump back in office, American B-2s ultimately obliterated Iran’s nuclear sites in June 2025. Since then, Iran has not enriched any more uranium. Before and after, Trump gave Tehran every opportunity to dismantle its nuclear program and reach a new deal. America even offered to enrich uranium for Iran. Unfortunately, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stubbornly continued his medieval ideological agenda. It was a fatal error.
A New Iran
It took nerve and involved risk, but by finally addressing the forty-seven-year nightmare of Iran, President Trump and his advisors are carrying out what appears to be a clear and multifaceted global strategy. If they do not prematurely or impatiently declare victory and steadily complete their task, the world will be a better place. With its regional hegemony shattered, Iran must never again be allowed to take the planet hostage. Perhaps a new, free, and enlightened Iran will be reborn. Despite the incessant noise of critics who get everything wrong about Iran, the world is witnessing the Theocracy’s Persian Precipice, not Washington’s. As the Pentagon coordinates clearing the Strait of Hormuz, the Energy, Interior, and Treasury Departments must skillfully navigate energy and economic considerations, all of which were and remain, despite critics’ outcry, foreseeable, anticipated, and readily addressable tasks.
Global Implications
The United States is in a position to disarm Iran precisely because of decisions made during the first Trump term and carried forward in the second term – first, gaining energy independence, and now, asserting energy dominance. In the Middle East, this included fostering security and economic ties such as the Abraham Accords. With the neutralization of Venezuela, the pending transformation of Cuba, and a potential adjustment in Iran, the United States has sent a clear message. China’s two vital energy lifelines are no longer secure or freely aligned with Beijing. Energy is the foundation of industrial power and ability, and China, which imports 10 million barrels of oil daily, is vulnerable. Venezuelan oil shipments are now under American control. Ending the Iranian terror, missile, and nuclear threats is crucial, but the implications of a new and realigned Iran, along with a secure Strait of Hormuz, are profound.
Dennis M. Spragg is the author of America Ascendant, The Rise of American Exceptionalism, and Glenn Miller Declassified. Related articles include Revive the Voice of America, From the River to the Sea, and America, Israel, and Iran.