The courage to defeat Iran

Back in 1935, Winston Churchill penned for The Strand Magazine an essay, The Truth About Hitler. Churchill wrote about Adolf Hitler’s grievances, rages, hates (especially the Jews), weakened opponents, and Nazi Germany’s new armament expansion program to rule the world. Historians now praise Sir Winston Churchill and point to this essay for his courage to boldly confront the impending dangers.

The world soon witnessed rallies of Nazi troops energized by Hitler’s vitriolic rants. Those swastika festooned events should remind us of today’s Iranian leader’s vitriolic chants of “death to America and Israel.” The Stuka dive bombers and Panzer tanks of the Nazis were but play toys compared to fearsome nuclear weapons Iran planned to set atop ICBMs capable of reaching Israel, Europe and America.

President Donald J. Trump is an admirer of Sir Winston Churchill. In fact, he proudly displays in the Oval Office sculptor Jacob Epstein’s bust of Churchill. The rugged bronze statue, only twelve inches tall, was first lent to and displayed by President George W. Bush, was sent back to Britain by President Barack Obama, and was requested by newly elected Donald Trump in 2017 and returned to its place of honor.

Like Churchill, President Donald Trump has been remarkably prescient about the need to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons. In 2015, Trump declared, “Iran never, and I mean never, acquires a nuclear weapon.” President Trump has criticized his predecessors for “kicking the nuclear can down the road.” He knows well that the history of Iran’s nuclear ambition is replete with protracted denials, delays and subterfuge. He knows deal abrogation is an Iranian tradition, and he seems determined not to be another president taken in by their manipulations.

President Obama’s 2015 JCPOA Iran Deal provided Iran with pallets of cash, removal of financial sanctions, and a guaranteed pathway to “legally recognized” uranium enrichment for multiple nuclear bombs. Iran’s deeply buried uranium and plutonium refinement sites were never opened for IAEA inspection, and plans for more advanced centrifuges were discovered by the Israelis.

President Trump has often highlighted that since 1979 Iran is responsible for nearly one thousand American deaths, including the 241 killed at the Beirut Marines Barracks bombing.

All this lethality leveled at Americans and the extreme danger Iran poses for Israel, the West, and America establishes a clear predicate for forcing Iran’s demise and a total surrender. Because America has vastly superior weaponry, a dominating economic base, and strategic maneuverability, America should never accept anything but an absolute end to the awful risks.

As Commander-in-Chief, and in close cooperation with Israel, in 2025 and 2026, President Trump forcefully applied America’s military power to set back Iran’s nefarious nuclear program and to diminish their other offensive and defensive assets. Iran has been devastated by a pounding assault from American and Israeli forces. Their nuclear factories have been wrecked, and their naval and air forces virtually eliminated. America and Israel own the skies and can rain down destruction whenever and wherever desired. Iran’s infrastructure and petroleum industry can be obliterated at any time.

Because of tactical realities, including the Strait of Hormuz blockade and munitions availability, America and Israel are currently observing a ceasefire and seeking rigorous diplomatic solutions to end and eliminate the risks. The complete removal of all enriched uranium, termination of Iran’s missile program, terrorist proxy support, and the Strait of Hormuz opening are demands of President Trump in the final settlement. Sanctions relief can come after these other terms have been accepted.

A full surrender, like that of the Japanese on the deck of the USS Missouri, or the German Generals Jodl and Keitel’s capitulation on May 8, 1945, is the right goal. It is also worth buttressing any agreements with robust support for Iranian regime change and an expansion of the Abraham Accords. These are steps needed to realign the Middle East and ensure long-term peace.

President Trump, in the heat of extreme political division, must rise above popularity polls, domestic pressures of midterm elections, and the negative effect on the economy. He must defeat efforts to cut funding and war powers limitations. President Trump must not default to Iran’s modus operandi of delays, bargaining, unrealistic trash talking, ceasefires and problematic diplomacy. After all, he has, by far, the stronger hand.

The lessons from Churchill’s prognostications and his subsequent resilience fighting the Nazis are there for President Trump’s edification. If he eliminates the Iranian threat, historians will describe him as one the most consequential presidents post-World War II. If he “goes wobbly,” an admonition from another British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, he will miss the opportunity to eradicate this generation’s “Nazi Germany.” He will be lumped in with all those who ignored ominous signals, deferred on their obligations, and chose the more convenient way out.

President Trump has been a steady force battling radical Islam, fortifying American borders and promoting a belief in American greatness. While surely controversial, and one who has been aggressively persecuted by his foes, he has persevered. At this “hinge of history” moment, his country, and the world, needs another clear-eyed, courageous leader. President Trump can do the very right thing to make the world safe again.