Trump Made History. Now the Iranian People Can, Too. |
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This weekend, the United States and Israel carried out a massive air campaign against Iran, taking out hundreds of targets and killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This is a historic moment. A dictator who has terrorized the United States, the region, and his own citizens for almost 40 years has been eliminated. This weekend’s action is a measure of justice for his many victims.
But what comes next? To answer that question, it is important to first understand how we got here.
This weekend, the United States and Israel carried out a massive air campaign against Iran, taking out hundreds of targets and killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This is a historic moment. A dictator who has terrorized the United States, the region, and his own citizens for almost 40 years has been eliminated. This weekend’s action is a measure of justice for his many victims.
But what comes next? To answer that question, it is important to first understand how we got here.
Iran, of course, has posed one of the greatest threats to U.S. and global security for many decades. It is the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. It possesses the largest ballistic missile program in the Middle East and has a long-standing nuclear program. It is also a card-carrying member of the “axis of aggressors,” working closely with China, Russia, and North Korea, including by supplying Moscow with drones to brutalize Ukraine.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration was ready to move on from Iran and the broader Middle East after Operation Midnight Hammer, which badly degraded Iran’s nuclear program last summer. In its National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy, released in December and January, respectively, the administration declared the Middle East largely resolved.
Then Iran made a number of grievous miscalculations. While Western commentators obsess over America’s mistakes, the past few weeks have been a case study in blowback, Persian-style.
When protesters rose up against the Islamic Republic in December, U.S. President Donald Trump drew a red line, warning the regime that........