When news broke late Saturday that the United States military had bombed three of Iran's nuclear facilities, I cannot say that I was surprised. That outcome had felt somewhat inevitable for days, for a number of very good reasons. President Trump, our Commander in Chief, made the correct call -- and he did so the right way. He's been remarkably consistent over the course of many years that the 'death to America' Iranian regime must never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. He gave Iran's leaders a 60-day deadline to resolve the issue diplomatically, then we all know what was unleashed on day 61. Thanks to Israel's masterful operations, including numerous decapitation strikes and its imposition of full control over Iranian airspace, there would likely never be a more advantageous moment to eliminate or hugely cripple the regime's nuclear program than right now. With virtually no leverage remaining, the Iranians were still playing absurd, devious games. Trump saw right through it. He'd had enough.
And despite typical hyperventilations on the Left, as well as some 'no more forever wars' noise within elements of the Right, Trump acted decisively and strategically. Before we discuss how this was handled so exceptionally well, let's first address why this limited, punishing attack was very much in line with Trump's longstanding foreign policy ethos. I offered this analysis on Thursday, which we now know was the day before the bombing mission was launched in secret:
A humble contribution to an important debate:
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 19, 2025
As President Trump decides whether to authorize US bunker-buster strikes on Fordow (only we have this capability & there’s a non-peaceful reason Iran buried this ☢️ facility deep under a mountain), here is an important point that I…
This would not be a “forever war” move (targeting an actual forever war regime). It would be very much aligned with DJT’s first term approach. He wasn’t bashful about using American military might to achieve discrete and important objectives — WITHOUT getting bogged down or spiraling into wider wars. Think of the Soleimani hit, the Syria strikes, and “bombing the sh*t” out of ISIS and crushing their caliphate. These were all in American interests. They accomplished key goals. They also sent crucial, resonating messages. And despite some critics’ warnings back then, they did not beget mission creep. No invasions, no nation building, no foreverness. POTUS decided, acted, succeeded, and was done with it. Same proposition here, arguably with an even greater upside (with very low risk to our people thanks to our Israeli allies’ incredible intel and military feats thus far). In short, limited sorties to obliterate Fordow would be fully consistent with his longstanding philosophy on war and the use of force.
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As events proved shortly thereafter, this very much reflected the president's thinking and instincts on this matter. His call here was fully consistent with his successful first term approach. The deception of sending some B-2 bombers toward Guam, to throw observers off the scent, worked brilliantly. Trump's 'two weeks of consideration' comment also may have thrown off the regime's sense of what time horizon might be realistic to expect. The operational details of the attack, as relayed by the president, the Defense Secretary and the Joint Chiefs chairman are extraordinary. The skill, competence and effectiveness of the military in fulfilling Trump's orders is worthy of sustained applause. The bombers flew for the better part of a full day, requiring multiple midair refuelings, dropped their payloads precisely as intended on three key nuclear facilities, then promptly exited the vicinity. They arrived and left unexpectedly and without being detected. Per Sec. Hegseth, the enemy didn't even attempt to fire a shot. Bravo. And the operational secrecy surrounding the entire mission was flawless:
Fox News' Jennifer Griffin:
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 22, 2025
“18 years since I've been at the Pentagon, I've never seen such operational security. There was nobody speaking about this....There was a complete lockdown, almost a blackout of information…There were no leaks.”
pic.twitter.com/sAqE7wWGKb
Trump and his inner circle played this extremely close to the vest, and appear to have executed their righteous objectives without a hitch. There is no doubt that Iran still possesses many dangerous weapons (though their ability to deploy them has been heavily degraded by the Israelis), and likely commands terrorist cells around the world. There could be lethal acts of retaliation to come. No one should be naive about this, or too triumphalist after these successful strikes. But it seems strange to cite Iran's arsenal and terrorism as an argument against Trump's decision. Imagine how much more dangerous this regime would be with nukes. The fact that people are bracing for yet more attacks that would be ordered, funded and supported by Iran is itself a powerful argument in favor of preventing that country's theocratic, anti-American government from developing the bomb. After Trump revealed what had just occurred on social media Saturday evening, the White House announced that the president would address the nation later that night. Before he came out, I wrote publicly that Trump would be well served by eschewing his habit of veering off script and speaking at great length. "I hope POTUS is on time, on script, and succinct. That’s not generally who he is, but the gravity of certain moments demands seriousness and brevity," I wrote. He nailed it:
Tonight’s Full Address to the Nation by U.S. President Donald J. Trump announcing strikes against nuclear facilities inside Iran: pic.twitter.com/JxBlYtKklK
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 22, 2025
Trump and Hegseth have both warned that although the mission was limited and finite in scope, with no additional action planned, the United States will not hesitate to defend itself and rain more destruction upon the regime if it makes yet another foolish decision to target Americans with reprisals. The goal of the operation was not regime change, but rather to obliterate Iran's ability to build nuclear weapons (their facilities are either gone or gravely damaged, and many of their top nuclear scientists have been liquidated by Israel). This was good framing by the Vice President. Initial assessments suggest the targeted bombings were highly effective, according to the Pentagon. A full ground assessment will hopefully confirm this, perhaps carried out by Israel's Mossad, whose agents seem to be all over Iran. If the regime wants any chance of survival, and having played their hand just about as poorly as possible, they can return to the negotiating table with their shredded leverage. And no, none of this looks like a vindication of President Obama's fatally flawed deal with Iran, which Trump rightly terminated:
"To those who blame President Trump for abandoning the JCPOA, Barack Obama’s deal with Iran, consider this: Had the JCPOA still been in effect, its “sunset clause,” allowing Iran to produce advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium to weapons grade level in a matter of…
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) June 22, 2025
Peace might now be made meaningfully possible, thanks to the president's credible threat -- and now use -- of force. Speaking of which, I don't find constitutional hand-wringing about Trump's authority to do what he did persuasive at all. Some people may argue that presidents have been acting unconstitutionally on this front for decades now, which would at least be consistent. But the fact is that every president of my entire lifetime has ordered airstrikes without running to Congress for specific approvals in advance. Trump's orders and actions here are well within presidential precedent. This would also be the legal response to certain critics:
If you’re wondering what powers/statute give President Trump legal authority to bomb Iran, here is a list in descending order of likelihood of citation:
— Peter Meijer (@petermeijer) June 22, 2025
- Article II (‘self-defense’ powers)
- 2001 AUMF (yep, Iran has harbored AQ)
- 1957 AUMF (prob some commie connection) (1/2)
Meanwhile, this exchange, especially Sec. Rubio's responses on intelligence and justifications, is worth your time:
The whole Brennan-Rubio interview was very good
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) June 22, 2025
pic.twitter.com/jkBhXnRsE6
As for President Trump's emerging legacy on this critical issue to national and world security, I'll leave you with this observation:
Obama and Biden sent the Ayatollah an endless stream of negotiators and pallets of cash.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 22, 2025
Trump just sent the Ayatollah bunker-busting American bombs to cripple his regime’s nuclear weapons program.
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