Tag Archives: war in Iran

Victor Davis Hanson And The War In Iran

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Victor David Hanson is one of America’s foremost historians. He is known for his clear analysis of both past and present history. On Saturday, Fox News posted some of this analysis on its website.

Here are some highlights from the article.:

Historian Victor Davis Hanson called out critics of the newly signed U.S.-Iran preliminary agreement, arguing that they are misreading American leverage in negotiations.

Speaking on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Hanson disputed what he described as misconceptions about the deal and said the military conflict dismantled Iran’s infrastructure, leaving Tehran with no cards to play.

“They’ve suffered probably a half a trillion dollars to their nuclear military industrial complex that took them 50 years to build,” Hanson said in response to what he called “unhinged” arguments that Iran is better off now than before the conflict.

…The Trump administration’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran was released this week, laying out the terms of the deal reached by both parties for a 60-day ceasefire and a framework for negotiations.

The deal itself has drawn criticism from both sides of the political aisle, with critics arguing that it does not include aspects like an immediate dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure or the removal of enriched uranium stockpiles.

Hanson also pushed back against critics who have cited difficulties moving oil out of the region due to Iranian actions in the Strait of Hormuz.

The article concludes:

He suggested that Tehran is concerned about America’s upcoming midterm elections and the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Hanson argued that if the conflict goes past the midterms, Trump will be less constrained by electoral considerations.

“They are terrified that if he wins the midterms and the price of gas goes down, he’s got a free hand, and he already has a free hand now,” Hanson said.

“They are afraid that Donald Trump is [going to] drag it out because if he drags it out after the midterm, after the 250th anniversary, he’s [going to] have a lot more options than he does now when he’s worried about gas and the midterm. So the dynamic is all upside down. They are the ones that have the time clock.”

It is going to be an interesting few months.

Some Basic Thoughts On Iran

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The article I am sourcing here was posted on Tuesday, so a lot can happen between then and now, but this is how the situation looked then.

On Tuesday, Hot Air posted an article about the war in Iran.

The article notes:

Me?

I just want the Iranian regime gone. I realize why we couldn’t state that as an aim at the beginning of this action against them, and that was fine with me. Any strike against the mullahs and crippling of their ability to inflict casualties on Americans at large, and, increasingly, their citizens at home, was fine with me.

Every bomb dropped, every missile that hit, every bullet that hit was one less chance for their deadly, malevolent mischief, and one more blow that should have been struck forty-seven years ago and never had been.

Since we entered the ‘negotiation’ phase, knowing who’s on the other side of the table, I have been waiting for the Iranians’ overconfidence – born from jerking Americans around for nearly five decades – to trip them up. For them to smugly pull a ‘one-step-over-the-line, unforgivable strike or act of bravado that gets them smoked back to stone and ash. 

Trump is capable of it, but what would trigger it?

The article includes an X post from Central Command:

U.S., Partner Forces Defend Against Aggressive Iranian Behavior

TAMPA, Fla. — U.S. forces successfully defeated multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and conducted self-defense strikes on Qeshm Island in response to attempted attacks by Iran across the Middle East, June 2.

Iran launched several ballistic missiles toward regional neighbors; however, all failed to hit their intended targets. Two Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait fell short or broke apart enroute, and three missiles launched at Bahrain were immediately intercepted by U.S. and Bahrain air defense forces.

Moments earlier, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces shot down three one-way attack drones launched by Iran toward civilian mariners that were rightfully transiting regional waters. American forces also conducted self-defense strikes on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island.

No U.S. personnel were harmed. CENTCOM forces remain vigilant and ready to defend against unwarranted Iranian aggression during the ongoing ceasefire.

It’s time to end Iran’s stall tactics and get the job done!

The Real Numbers On Gas Prices

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The war in Iran has caused gas prices at the pump to go up, but adjusted for inflation, where are they?

On Tuesday, Issues & Insights posted an article to answer that question.

The article reports:

Democrats were quick to make hay of President Donald Trump’s remark that the high price of gasoline “is peanuts.”

But what if he’s right? What if today’s prices are lower than they were, say, when we had a peanut farmer as president? Or many times since then?

Democrats called Trump “out of touch” with everyday Americans.

“’Peanuts’ isn’t how my constituents would describe the spiking gas prices that make everyday life more expensive,” said New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. “POTUS isn’t paying for this war. Middle-class Americans are, and he couldn’t care less.”

Trump is, of course, being maligned … again. What he said was that the cost of gasoline “is peanuts” next to what would happen if Iran got a nuclear weapon.

He’s certainly right about that.

The article includes the following graph:

The article notes:

Yes, the national average is around $4.60 a gallon. And yes, that means filling up a tank will cost you more than $50.

But every story about high gas prices leaves out one piece of critically important context. Inflation.

When you factor in inflation, you see that today’s prices aren’t nearly as high as they have been over the past several decades. In fact, the national average price hit $5.79 a gallon — in today’s dollars — under Joe Biden in June 2022. (Funny, but we don’t seem to recall gasoline price horror stories being written back then.)

Go a little further back, and you see that gas prices were higher than they are today practically the entire two terms of Barack “We Can’t Drill Our Way To Lower Gas Prices” Obama. In fact, the average inflation-adjusted price of gasoline during Obama’s eight years in office was $4.39.

Most of us have realized that when the war in Iran ends, gas prices will come back down, and the Democrats will have to find something else to complain about.

The World Is Rapidly Changing

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It will be a while before we truly realize the aftershocks of what is happening in Iran. It may be a while before we know what is actually happening in Iran, but the impact of what has happened so far will be felt for a long time. I believe the war in Iran began with the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. That attack ended the idea of a peaceful Palestinian state, which Gaza was established to be. Once that illusion was shattered, and Israel realized how vulnerable it was, the war with Iran was inevitable whether or not America approved or got involved. The issue became the survival of Israel. Since the war began, other Arab states have realized that they are not immune from the terrorist activities of Iran. The region in gradually reshaping itself into a more modern, economically bonded region.

On Tuesday, The Hill reported:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the country’s government said on Tuesday. 

The country will officially exit OPEC and its broader OPEC+ association on May 1 following the government’s internal review of its production policy, according to UAE state media, WAM. 

“This decision reflects the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile, including accelerated investment in domestic energy production, and reinforces its commitment to a responsible, reliable, and forward-looking role in global energy markets,” WAM reported.

The move marks a major change for the permanent intergovernmental organization, which sets uniform petroleum policies among its member countries with the mission of maintaining stable global oil markets.

The UAE first joined OPEC seven years after its founding in 1960 under the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and it has been a vital member of the intergovernmental organization. The country’s exit follows UAE officials’ complaints about OPEC’s quotas and the country’s reported clashes with the organization’s de-facto leader, Saudi Arabia.

This decision is also the result of the fact that America is not only energy independent–we are exporting oil. Saudi Arabia no longer has the sway that it once had. The energy market is now every man for himself. It will be interesting to see what impact this has on crude oil prices.

When Trump Derangement Syndrome Is Dangerous

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On April 12th, Real Clear Politics posted an article about a recent quote from Tom Friedman. The quote is disturbing for many reasons.

The article reports:

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman told CNN’s “Smerconish” that he would love to see the Islamic Republic in Iran replaced by a Democratic regime, but letting Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu get credit for succeeding at overthrowing it like this might not be worth it.

“Nothing would improve the region more than the replacement of this regime in Iran,” Friedman said. “The problem is I really don’t want to see Bibi Netanyahu or Donald Trump politically strengthened by this war because they are two awful human beings.”

“They are both engaged in anti- democratic projects in their own countries. They’re both alleged crooks. They are terrible, terrible people doing terrible things to America’s standing in the world and Israel standing in the world,” Friedman said about Trump and Netanyahu. “So I really find myself torn. I want to see Iran militarily defeated, but I do not want to see these two terrible people strengthened.”

At least he said alleged crooks. He can’t support America’s war effort because he doesn’t like the people in charge. Also notice that he doesn’t amplify any of his charges with actual facts. I don’t think the war in Iran is hurting either America’s or Israel’s standing in the world. I think it may actually result in both countries being respected.

Loving your country does not mean that you have to love its elected leaders at all times. I was not a fan of either President Obama or President Biden. However, I never hoped for the military disasters we saw under both Presidents. I don’t care who is in charge, I never want to see another situation like Benghazi or the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

What Is The Plan?

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On Friday, Fred Fleitz posted an article at American Greatness about President Trump’s goals in the Iran war.

The article includes Fred Fleitz’s background in national security:

Fred Fleitz previously served as National Security Council chief of staff, a CIA analyst, and a House Intelligence Committee staff member. He is the vice chair of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security. He is the author of “North Korea, Nuclear Brinkmanship, and the Oval Office,” to be released by Texas A&M Press on April 7, 2026.

The article reports:

Somehow, I received an invitation to the White House to watch President Trump’s prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday evening, where he laid out his endgame strategy for the Iran War. In addition to observing the strong camaraderie between Trump’s cabinet members, I saw the president in great form, confidently articulating the war’s goals and achievements and how he is keeping his promise to the American people to end this conflict in a few weeks so it does not become a quagmire or an endless war.

The president spoke about the overwhelming strength of the American military and how the war is a decisive and historic U.S. victory. Just one month after launching Operation Epic Fury, Trump explained how the U.S. and Israel shattered Iran’s nuclear weapons program, crippled its war machine, and stripped the mullahs of their ability to bully the Middle East and the world.

President Trump spoke about how Operation Epic Fury devastated Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, ballistic missile programs, air defenses, navy, and command structure. Key nuclear facilities have been reduced to rubble. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ terror networks and proxy armies have been decimated. So has Iran’s ability to project power across the Middle East or threaten our allies with drones and missiles.

The article concludes:

Most importantly, President Trump stressed that the short-term economic costs of Operation Epic Fury are worth it because dealing with the global threat from Iran’s Islamist terrorist regime is an investment for our children’s and grandchildren’s future. So instead of kicking the Iran problem down the road to the next president, Trump is dealing with it now.

That’s the kind of decisive leadership America voted for.

Please follow the link above to read the entire article.

Why Are We In NATO?

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded on 4 April 1949. Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States signed the treaty. Since its founding, Greece, West Germany, Turkey, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden have joined. Since its founding, no country has left the organization.

On April 1, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about NATO’s current actions.

The article reports:

The U.S. supports our NATO posture in Europe in part because it provides us with strategic military bases and operations that are considered vital to our national interests. However, as outlined in the Iran conflict, when we need to use those strategic bases the NATO member states withdraw previous permissions. France has blocked us from flying over their airspace, Spain and Italy have said the U.S. cannot use our military bases on their soil for operations. The U.K has refused to protect and/or escort their own energy assets.

The NATO membership is now a one-way street where they demand our military protection, but Europe blocks us from using our own military assets for our independent operations.

Europe, while hiding behind the NATO protection skirt of the U.S, is simultaneously telling the U.S. what we can and cannot do with our own military. Secretary Rubio and President Trump are now confronting this very visible one-way benefit head on.

The article includes the following video:

America has been protecting Europe since World War II. Our military bases there boost the local economies. The decision of some of the NATO counties to deny the use of bases in their countries to deal with the threat of Iran makes it very hard to justify our continued membership in the organization. I think Europe needs to understand the threat posed to them by Iran (if Iran’s missiles can reach Diego Garcia, they can reach Europe) and help with the war effort. Europe is much more dependent on the Strait of Hormuz for its oil than America is. It’s time for the NATO nations to step up to the plate. Otherwise, why should America be a member?

The Long Road To War

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On March 10th, Victor David Hanson posted an article at American Greatness detailing how we got involved in a war with Iran.

The article reports:

Until last year, for some 46 years, Iran enjoyed a North Korea-like reputation in the heart of the Middle East: always unpredictable, reckless, dangerous, inevitably to be nuclear, self-destructive, and nihilistic.

All that said, was it really ever all that formidable?

The mullahs came into power after the removal of the Shah and, subsequently, the interim secular socialists. They did so by taking American hostages, murdering opponents, executing former supporters, and transforming the most secular and modern of the Middle East Muslim nations into the most medieval that routinely hung homosexuals, adulterers, and almost anyone who questioned the authority of the ayatollahs. In other words, these were gruesome people, but they didn’t necessarily have a competent military.

The theocracy’s only constant with the prior monarchical Iran was that it inherited near limitless oil and natural gas reserves, sophisticated arms, and the Shah’s modernized cities. It controlled the key strategic chokepoint at the Strait of Hormuz and enjoyed a geostrategically critical location between Asia and the Middle East. It fueled Iran’s historical chauvinism and pique that the millennia-long historical preeminence of Middle Eastern Persia was not fully appreciated by its Arab neighbors. So there were lots of natural advantages—and all for the most part squandered.

The article concludes with what the author suspects is the strategy of the people who currently control Iran:

The remnants of the theocracy intend to ride out the bombings and, at some point in extremis, expect an armistice from “negotiations.” Their ultimate strategy is to wait out the tenures of both Trump and Netanyahu and hope for another sympathetic president like Obama, or a non compos mentis Biden, or someone ideologically akin to Mamdani or AOC.

When Trump and Netanyahu are out of office, they dream of using their oil to rearm and resume their role as Chinese and Russian proxies, eventually getting the bomb, and the second time around, perhaps using it.

Theocratic Iran, in its fantasies, still believes that if it ever destroyed Israel with a bomb or two, the world, especially given the recrudescence of Western antisemitism, would be appalled—for a day or two.

Then it would resume business with it. And with a dozen or so deterrent nuclear-tipped missiles, the Iranian ritual boilerplate of crazed pronouncements would follow of supposedly welcoming a nuclear pathway to an eternal virginal Paradise.

And thus, we would go full circle back again to a “crazy” Iran, its murderous clients, and its unhinged—but effective—threats.

Please follow the link to read the entire article. The war started 47 years ago. We need to finish it.

Ignorance Or Simply Supporting The Narrative?

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On Sunday, Breitbart posted an article about Senator Mark Warner’s recent comments about America’s attack on Iran.

The article reports:

Warner said, “Americans are paying $122 million a day extra in gas coming right out of their pockets, that, combined with the declining job numbers, that combined with the stock market crashing, going into this war without I don’t feel like the appropriate preparation or having made the case the American public, I think we’ve got a lot of explaining to do. We don’t know how long Iran will last. The notion and I heard the general earlier, I think we are attiring some of their forces, but we still don’t know whether those ballistic missiles are being totally eliminated or they’re just being hidden. And my fear is that we are running down on the munitions that intercepts the missiles.”

He added, “I really do feel like when we’ve got America’s interest, when we’ve got dead service members, that we’ve not made the case, that the President has not made the case, that this was an imminent threat, and we don’t know where this is going to end up, I think on a war of choice, I think he chose the wrong time. And frankly, one of the things that I would point out, the president said to the Iranian people to rise up. What happens if 200,000 Iranians protest in Tehran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard then massacres 20, 30, 40,000 of them? Will we have an obligation then to put troops on the ground?”

There are a few things to remember here. Iran stated in the negotiations preceding the war that under no circumstances would it end its nuclear enrichment program. Do you really want people who have been shouting ‘death to America’ for 47 years to have a nuclear weapon? Israel has already discovered a nuclear site that had not been previously destroyed. How much damage to American troops has Iran done in the past 47 years? Who is the world’s greatest funder of terror around the world? In a world where terrorism is no longer confined to one area of the globe, did America and Israel have a choice other than to go now–before Iran had an atomic bomb and a delivery system?

Out Of Touch Again

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The  Democrats are clutching their pearls over President Trump’s being part of the Israeli attack on Iran. When Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House, she defended President Obama’s attack on Libya as constitutional. Now she is singing a different tune. Meanwhile, there are an awful lot of people in the world rejoicing at the death of a very evil leader.

On Tuesday, Behind the Black reported:

Without doubt there remain great risks and real constitutional issues involved the present military campaign by both the United States and Israel to destroy the Islamic leadership in Iran. First, it is almost impossible to force a change in power solely by air power. This has been tried numerous times, with little success. Killing the leaders of this terrorist Iranian government is a positive step, but it remains entirely unclear whether this war can produce a better government there.

Second, as much as there might be legal precedents that allow President Trump to initiate this action without direct congressional approval, it continues a dangerous trend ceding power away from Congress and to the presidency, in direct opposition to the intentions of the Founding Fathers in their writing of the Constitution. They very much were opposed to giving any president the power to start a war unilaterally.

Having stated the reasonable objections to this military action, however, we must now take a look at the two images to the right to see its immediate and very positive consequences. Both pictures are from videos of very spontaneous demonstrations on February 28, 2026 by Iranian refugees celebrating the American/Israeli attacks against Iran.

Did you ever think you would see the American, Iranian, and Israeli flag together at a celebration?

The article notes:

Moreover, these demonstrations took place in two Democratic Party strongholds, cities where pro-Hamas demonstrations have been routine, including rioting and violence against Jews and anyone who dared suggest Israel’s actions in Gaza might be justified.

Nor are these two demonstrations an exception. They have been the rule across the United States and Europe, as well as in Iran itself. The public — the ordinary people for whom governments are meant to serve — seem very much in favor of what President Trump and Netanyahu are doing in Iran. And they are expressing that support of both America and Israel quite unequivocally. If this doesn’t indicate to the world that Israel and the rest of the Middle East can live together in peace and mutual cooperation, nothing can.

This conclusion is further supported by the response by almost every Arab nation in the Middle East, most of whom started off quite willing to let the U.S. and Israel do this deed, with no opposition or with covert support. Now, because of Iran’s indiscriminate attacks on Arab nations, they have all publicly joined the war, allying themselves not with the Islamic nation of Iran but with the U.S. and Israel.

This is the path to freedom for the Persian people. They need our prayers.

Update On The War In Iran

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Iran has been at war with America since 1979. We are now at war with them. This is an update on where we are. Note that the Kurds may play a role in the future of Iran. They have been America allies and have suffered under the Muslim tyrants that ran the Middle East for so many years. This war may loosen the grip of those tyrants.

On March 4th, Zero Hedge reported:

Here are the most critical developments unfolding in the US-Iran conflict: 

    • CIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say: CNN
    • State Department securing military aircraft, charter flights to get Americans out of Middle East
    • Iran International is claiming (unverified) Iran’s Assembly of Experts chose Mojtaba Khamenei as new Ayatollah under heavy IRGC pressure to ensure hardline continuity and regime stability after his father’s death
    • Drone hits CIA station in Saudi Arabia, also reportedly a consulate in Dubai. WaPo: A suspected Iranian drone attack hit the CIA’s station in Saudi Arabia in what would amount to a significant symbolic victory for the Islamic Republic as it lashes out at U.S. targets and personnel across the Middle East.
    • IAEA’s Grossi says there has been no evidence of Iran building a nuclear bomb; Iran’s large stockpile of near-weapons grade enriched Uranium and refusal to grant IAEA full access are cause for serious concern
    • Trump Weighs Backing Militias to Dislodge Iran’s Regime. Future insurgency fragmentation and Iraq-style nightmare coming to Iran?
    • Trump tries to articular war justification: says if we have a little high oil prices, could be for a little while, but they will drop, and could even be below the levels before, but that he ‘had to’ act or else Iran would have ‘used nukes’. Claims Israel didn’t force America’s hand. Admits leadership vacuum.
    • US to offer military protection to ships/insurance in the Strait of Hormuz 
    • The Pentagon has released Operation Epic Fury’s objectives; 1- Demilitarization of Iran: destruction of its missile forces, production facilities, and naval fleet 2- Elimination of the terrorist regime 3- Protection of the United States from current and future threats 4-  Ensuring that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons
    • UAE mulling joining US-Israel attack on Iran, and the Saudis too, to stop Iranian missile and drone strikes on their countries.

Please follow the link above for more information.