For 45 years, all U.S. presidents have considered attacking Iran at some point: the major destabilizer in the Middle East, the main sponsor of terrorism, the brain and economic muscle behind Hezbollah, Hamas, and many other groups.
For over two decades, military options to definitively destroy their nuclear program and leaders have been on the table. None dared to act due to the high and unpredictable political, geopolitical, social, and religious risks in the region. It has been Donald Trump, the man who criticized them all for being warmongers, who came to power by creating a movement that rejected distant wars, incursions in the Middle East, breaking all taboos by ordering the destruction of the country's three main nuclear facilities in an unprecedented operation.
On Saturday afternoon, early morning in Tehran, minutes before a squadron of seven B-2 bombers, escorted by state-of-the-art fighter jets, entered Iranian airspace, Trump gave the final green light to the largest and most impressive deployment since 9/11, with over 125 aircraft and a mobilized submarine. When the Pentagon confirmed that up to 75 bunker-buster bombs, some weighing nearly 14,000 kilograms, hit their targets, the president celebrated on social media. "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! " he wrote, demanding peace from the ayatollahs, even though they were the ones attacked.
Hours later, surrounded by his vice president and the Defense and Foreign Affairs officials, the president who dreams every day of the Nobel Peace Prize and repeatedly defines himself as a "great peacemaker" explained his decision to the world and delivered a clearer message: if Iran retaliated, the consequences would be devastating. "Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not. Future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier" he warned.
The president claims the facilities have been annihilated. "Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," he stated on Sunday. However, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S., much more cautious than the president and vice president, also spoke of "destruction" or "pulverization" and a "final blow to the nuclear program." The damages are evident, but the impact remains uncertain at this time.
It was a show of strength, of power, of "almost limitless capabilities." A clear message to allies, but especially to rivals. A warning to Russia, unable to control Ukrainian airspace after three years, or to China threatening Taiwan: we can strike anywhere, at any time, with an unstoppable deployment. "There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight, not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago" an ecstatic Trump insisted.
The following hours have been frantic worldwide. Trump saw an opportunity. Or rather, Benjamin Netanyahu convinced Trump that there was an opportunity. He had been seeking it since 1996, repeating the same message to Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump himself, but they had not listened. The difference this time is that Tel Aviv struck first, and when the White House saw that Tehran had no air defenses, that the airspace was an open highway, they did not want to miss the chance. "President Trump said he would not tolerate nuclear weapons. He seeks peace, and Iran should follow that path. Last night he stated a truth: any Iranian retaliation against the United States will face a much greater force," Pentagon high command warned.
In Washington, they believe that Iran, with an 86-year-old leader questioned, unable to harm Israel after recent humiliations, incapable of defending itself after losing its ally in Syria and much of its influence with Hezbollah and Hamas, and seeing Yemen signing a truce, is not the power they feared. Hence the devastating early morning attack, which has, however, caused a significant rift in Trump's MAGA universe, enraged by what they consider a betrayal and a catastrophic mistake. "Every time the United States is on the brink of greatness, we find ourselves in another foreign war," lamented MAGA congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on social media on Saturday night. "There wouldn't be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu hadn't launched them first on the people of Iran. Israel is a nation with nuclear weapons. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer." But when Trump said two weeks ago that there was an opportunity for peace, the planes were actually about to take off.
The U.S. government took to television in force on Sunday to defend the attack, to threaten anyone tempted to respond, and above all, to try, in an almost innocent way, to settle everything. "We are not at war with Iran, we're at war with Iran's nuclear program" declared Vice President Vance. "It is not a declaration of war, and we do not seek regime change," stated Marco Rubio on morning talk shows. "It is not an open operation or seeking a change," insisted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from the Pentagon, after detailing the operation step by step.
It was of little use as hours later, the president himself completely changed his mind, as is customary for him, and wrote: "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!"
And that is precisely what many dream of, in the United States and, above all, in Israel. The operations of exporting democracy and nation-building have been discredited, perhaps forever, after the experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention Syria or Libya. But the regime of the ayatollahs has been the great obsession since the 1979 Revolution, and many in both countries are willing to take the risk to see what happens if the clerics fall.
The issue now moves to all boards simultaneously. The UN has been debating a resolution from China, Russia, and Pakistan since Sunday calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region. The Iranian Foreign Minister is urgently traveling to Moscow. Netanyahu's team, for the first time, has spoken in the last hours of ending the attacks, although they increased their incursions this same Sunday, taking advantage of the chaos and disorientation of the regime.
In a joint statement, the leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom urged Iran not to take any further actions that could destabilize the region, but did not criticize the U.S. decision to attack the facilities, stating that their goal remains to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. NATO will address the issue in The Hague in the coming days with Trump, if he does not change plans or leave earlier, as he did recently at a G-7 summit in Canada. Arab and Gulf countries are evaluating how to position themselves, even Iran's staunch enemies, who, with a lot of cynicism, denounced the violation of the country's sovereignty with the airstrikes.
Meanwhile, the United States has ordered its diplomatic personnel in the region to be on high alert, evacuated those in sensitive areas like Lebanon, and reinforced security measures domestically, especially in places with a significant Jewish community presence, fearing attacks or terrorism.