Let’s stop pretending Iran is a normal country with normal goals. This is a regime that murders dissidents, hangs gay people in public squares, and uses religion as a shield for state-sponsored terrorism. And while the West was busy issuing statements and pushing failed diplomacy, Israel was left to live under constant threat. They finally decided to act.
The operation wasn’t random. It was targeted and decisive. Israel hit about 100 strategic sites, nuclear facilities, missile depots, IRGC command centers, air defenses. The Natanz enrichment site took a major hit. High-ranking officials, including General Bagheri and IRGC Chief Salami, were reportedly killed. These weren’t civilian casualties. These were the men who helped plan bombings, rocket attacks, and terror campaigns across the region.
Iran’s response was telling. They launched drones, rattled sabers, but they didn’t get far. Most of their drones never even reached Israeli airspace. They’re scrambling now, cutting internet access, suspending nuclear talks, and threatening vague retaliation. It’s all bark. They just took a massive hit and they know it.
Some in the West are wringing their hands. The same usual suspects are crying about “escalation” and “regional instability.” But here’s the truth that polite diplomats won’t say out loud: real stability doesn’t come from appeasing terrorists. It comes from strength. It comes from reminding the world that if you threaten to wipe a country off the map, there are consequences.
The nuclear program has been set back, likely by years. That alone just bought the region time and breathing room. But the strike did more than delay a bomb. It reminded Iran’s proxies, Hezbollah, the Houthis, the Shiite militias, that there is a price to be paid for their actions. It sent a signal that Israel isn’t going to sit back while rockets fly and terror tunnels are dug.
And it sent a message to countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt, who might not say it out loud, but are quietly relieved. They’ve seen what Iran has done to Lebanon and Syria. They know a nuclear Iran threatens everyone, not just Israel.
Markets reacted, sure. Oil prices jumped. Gold surged. But that’s a short-term bump. The long-term outcome is that a major threat just got punched in the mouth. And sometimes, that’s what it takes to stop a war before it starts.
President Trump’s support of Israel’s right to defend itself was the right call. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t call for restraint while missiles rained down. He understood what many world leaders seem to forget, peace without strength is an illusion.
This strike wasn’t reckless. It was bold, calculated, and backed by years of intelligence. It disrupted terrorist networks, sent Iran’s leadership into hiding, and reminded the world that Israel won’t go quietly into the night.
It also drew a line for rogue regimes everywhere. If you threaten a sovereign democracy, if you fund terrorism, if you pursue nuclear weapons while preaching genocide, eventually, someone will hold you accountable.
Critics will keep talking. They always do. But ask yourself this, would you feel safer with Iran one step away from a nuclear bomb? Or are we safer today, knowing that one of the world’s most dangerous regimes just got knocked back a decade?
Israel didn’t start this. They’ve shown restraint for years. But when the world refused to act, they had no choice. And because they did, the rest of us are now a little bit safer.
Sometimes, the right thing isn’t the easy thing. But it’s still right.
CPT Robert M. Cornicelli US ARNG (Ret)/Navy Veteran, Pres VFAF, 1st VC BCRP, Founder VRC
