By Zack Strong
March 3, 2026
America and Israel are at war with Iran. During the early hours of February 28, the United States and Israel launched “major combat operations” against the Islamic Republic of Iran, eliminating nearly 50 of its primary civilian and military leaders and hitting IRGC targets throughout the nation. Iran has responded by hitting or targeting U.S. military bases in Bahrain, UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, and Kuwait. A British base in Cyprus was also hit. In total, they have launched missiles and suicide drones at 16 nations, slamming military and civilian targets including skyscrapers, airports, and oil tankers.
Iran also launched hundreds of missiles against Israel which has declared a nationwide state of emergency and whose people are in and out of bunkers, singing and celebrating that their biggest rival is erupting in flames. Iran’s proxy Hezbollah has also launched attacks on Israel from Lebanon, and the IDF has struck Lebanon in response.
In the streets of Tehran, outside of the Ayatollah’s compound which now sits in rubble, the Iranians are dancing, singing, and celebrating. Unbeknownst to most people, the Ayatollah was trained as a Marxian revolutionary in the Soviet Union and was a puppet of both Russia and Red China. He ruled with oppression and bloodshed over the Iranian people, forcing brutal Islamic law upon them and using the nation’s resources to extend terrorism throughout the region. He was a malicious man who presides over a tyrannical regime that has betrayed and shackled the Iranian people.
I use the past tense to refer to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei because he has been confirmed killed. In fact, the war began when it did because we were apprised of a golden opportunity to hit the Supreme Leader and many senior officials and military commanders while they gathered at his palace. At least 30 bombs were dropped on the palace, demolishing it and killing the Ayatollah and several of his family members, and numerous aides and cabinet members, in the first seconds of the war.
We also demolished former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s home, killing him. The defense minister, IRGC chief, head judicial official, the Ayatollah’s son and potential heir, the Ayatollah’s right-hand adviser, and dozens of other leaders were eliminated in the opening strikes, sending the Iranian military into leaderless disarray, resulting in a sporadic retaliation. As noted, many Iranians are dancing in the streets. Others have taken the opportunity to attack government and military positions. Some of the protests have turned into riots, with IRGC forces firing into the crowd, raising the previous death toll of 32,000 from this year’s protests.
In the wake of the U.S.-Israeli strikes, the Iranian Foreign Minister criticized Trump’s tactic, used also last year prior to Operation Midnight Hammer which hit Iran’s nuclear sites, of holding negotiations and pretending to be sincere about peace until the very moment he drops bombs. One must be supremely naïve to think that Trump and Netanyahu were legitimately seeking peace with Iran. Netanyahu, specifically, has lusted after and clamored for war with Iran since the 1980s.
The radical Project for the New American Century and the call for a “Greater Israel” that sprawls over the Middle East are at the root of Netanyahu’s hunger for war with Iran and America’s support of this aim. The current U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, a staunch Christian Zionist, likewise thinks it would be “fine if they took it all” – that is, for Israel to take over the bulk of the Middle East under his interpretation of Genesis 15:18. By Israeli admission, this joint operation has been in the works for months even as Trump boasted he was the greatest peacemaker in world history.
The same thing that can be said of Trump’s faux peace proposals should also be said of Iran which has not been sincere in their negotiations. They have intentionally followed the delay tactic pioneered by the Soviets and Red Chinese of holding peace conferences, negotiations, and détentes while they rearm, regroup, and prepare for more war. It’s their modus operandi, and it often works to derail legitimate retaliation to their aggression. President Trump has admitted several times about Iran that “they want to make a deal” but that the deal was not good enough and did not confirm to U.S. demands. Let’s be honest, with Israel whispering in Trump’s ear, no Iranian concessions would have been good enough. Nor should anyone be so foolish as to trust Iranian pretensions to peace and friendship.
The timing of this strike is also not coincidental. The Israeli holiday Purim dawns today on March 2. Purim is a commemoration of the Jewish people’s rescue from Persia’s murderous machinations (see Esther 9). One for Israel explained one week before the present war:
“Purim is the Hebrew word for the lots that were cast when Haman the Amalekite was deciding which day would be most fortuitous to annihilate the Jewish people he had grown to hate. As it turned out, fate had to take a back seat. The God of the universe overruled and overturned the evil plans of Haman, stepping in to rescue His people once again. This all took place in the Persian Empire, while the Jewish people were in exile. The king’s palace and hub of operations was Susa, the capital of Elam, in modern day Iran. . . .
“Here we are again 2,500 years later with death threats breathed out by Israel’s enemies, and on the brink of catastrophic attack from Iran. But will we see a total turnaround again, like in the story of Purim? Back in biblical times, Haman tried to wipe out the Jews but the tables turned and instead it was the enemies of Israel who were destroyed.
“Is the scene being set for a re-run? It certainly looks like it. Fighting back to defeat the Iranian Regime and its proxies seems a matter of survival at this point. . . .
“While we all feel we’ve been holding our breath for ages, it does seem inevitable that it’s about to go down.”
Iran is Persia. The historical and modern parallels cannot be overlooked. Neither can it be a coincidence that Israel pressed for this war at this symbolic time.
The U.S. and Israeli names for these military operations are respectively Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring. One wonders whether the roar will ultimately turn into a croak, and the fury into another false start. No one wants a piecemeal operation – another Trumpian half-measure with more show than substance. We don’t want a two-hour operation that removes one figurehead but leaves a tyrannical system in place, like in Venezuela. The people of Venezuela also cheered and danced in the streets of Caracas when we captured Maduro, but now they cower in fear once more because the despotic system with its armed militias was left intact. It would be a mistake to leave the IRGC and present governmental system in place in Iran.
I believe the American People generally support a quick decapitation strike against the Ayatollah but do not want another Iraq-style quagmire with boots on the ground, occupation, or years of guerilla warfare and insurgency. I believe the initial polling data is flawed. Nevertheless, a Reuters poll suggest that 27% of Americans support the strikes, 43% oppose them, 29% aren’t sure, and 56% of respondents believe Trump is “too willing to use military force.” They are also concerned with the potential for higher gas costs and American casualties.
I doubt the accuracy of the poll for three basic reasons. First, most respondents are likely Democrat, and the poll shows that 87% of Democrat respondents held a negative view, per usual. Second, the poll is a small cross section of the nation and doesn’t represent the silent majority. And third, the majority of voters voted for Trump and knew full well his position on Iran which has remained constant for many years.
That said, many of the people I know, nearly all of whom are generally “conservative,” are wary about the operation because they don’t believe it’s our fight and want no new wars, because they believe it is a war for Israeli interests and isn’t the “America First” Trump represents, or because they believe Trump is circumventing the Constitution. Each point is valid and I discuss them in order.
Many Americans believe Iran doesn’t concern us. After all, Tehran is some 6,500 miles from Washington, D.C. The Middle East as little do with us. An ocean separates us. Let them do them, as some might say. I understand and sympathize with this thinking; I don’t want more bloodshed.
However, this thinking is somewhat nearsighted. If for no other reason than considering 20-30% of the world’s oil runs through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is a nation we must keep in mind. It is the 17th most populous nation in the world with over 93 million people. It is also a major sponsor of terrorism that not only destabilizes the entire region, but which has claimed thousands of American lives. The Iranian regime considers the United States the “Great Satan” which must be destroyed, and chants of “Death to America” have been heard in their Parliament and on the streets of Tehran among regime sycophants. Iran has also sent men to assassinate Donald Trump and threatened to burn our nation to the ground. The list of terrorist attacks by Iran and its proxies against the United States is lengthy, and President Trump has claimed that Iran was preparing an imminent preemptive strike. If true, and Iran was preparing to shoulder and fire their proverbial rifle, it is completely legitimate to draw our own weapon and fire first.
Whether or not we want to think about Iran, they think about us, and they wish us ill. At the beginning of the Republic, Jefferson was one of the biggest proponents of peace and trade with all nations. However, he waged brutal war against the Islamic North African pirates who raided American ships. For 250 years, the United States has dealt with Islamic attacks by Middle Eastern and African jihadists and extremist regimes on our ships. It is completely in our interest, and part of our federal government’s duty, to ensure the safety of American ships and citizens, and of international waterways. The U.S. Navy was specifically created to stop the “the depredations committed by the Algerine corsairs [i.e. Islamic pirates] on the commerce of the United States.”
Perhaps you oppose this war simply because President Trump pledged no new wars and you feel he is going back on his word. He surely did pledge no new wars. However, he also pledged, and has remained consistent on this point since before his first term, to strangle Iran and halt their nuclear ambitions. This is nothing new. This is exactly what you voted for.
Please, spare me your diatribes about this war if you voted for Donald John Trump. Either you were ignorant of his stance on Iran, or you didn’t believe him. Either way, if you supported him, you can’t feign surprise or betrayal – like MTG who claims Trump has now switched sides and has joined the neocons – because he has followed through on his pledges to Israel and his promise to thwart Iranian ambitions and neutralize the Iranian threat.
Watch clips of Trump condemning Iran, vowing to stop their weapons and terrorist programs, pledging to support and defend Israel, and using nearly the same talking points as he now uses here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. The first link is Trump’s 2016 AIPAC speech in which he pledges to “dismantle” Iran’s terror network, eliminate their missile program, support Israel against her enemies, and more. Nothing he’s doing in 2026 is new; it’s mere fulfillment of his past promises. Trump didn’t hide his intentions. He didn’t deceive you. This is what you voted for!
Next, opponents of the war in Iran claim that it is a war for Israel. In a 2017 article, I wrote, “Trump puts Israel first. He has unconditionally pledged American blood to defend Israel. His advisers are major Zionists.” Trump’s loyalty to Israel was abundantly clear in 2016 as he campaigned for President and said he would defend Israel against her enemies with American lives. A decade later, nothing has changed.
In a second 2017 article about the potential of war with North Korea which I would majorly amend if written today, I warned of war “in Iran if our president makes good on his campaign promises or lives up to his long-standing alliance with Israel’s elite.” Operation Epic Fury is indeed another war for Israel; a war that took longer than expected but which is no surprise. It is not only a war for Israel, however. Two things can be true at the same time. This is a war Trump believes is necessary to end oppression and terrorism in the Middle East. Iranians themselves largely consider Operation Epic Fury a rescue mission. It is too simplistic to simply say this is a war for Israel and that Trump does everything Netanyahu tells him to do.
To be clear, Israel has reasonable justification to attack Iran. Not only have Iranian bombs, missiles, and proxy troops like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis slain Israelis for decades, but Iran has threatened to annihilate Israel on too many occasions to count. Netanyahu’s lie repeated since the 1980s that Iran would “imminently” achieve a nuclear weapon notwithstanding, Israel has justification to strike Iran. Consequently, this probably should have been Israel’s operation, not ours.
If the United States wanted to go to war, and we do in fact have justification, we should have made the case publicly and formally declared war. For emphasis, let’s recap our justification. Iran’s attacks and proxy attacks on U.S. troops and naval assets and their taking of American hostages have continued for decades. We might mention their numerous war threats, their abortive attempts to assassinate Trump, their efforts to disrupt international trade and disrupt the global economy, their sleeper cells in our country, and more.
Not only do they chant “Death to America!”, the fact that Iran has threatened to obtain nuclear weapons for the purpose of reducing New York City to “hellish ruins” is noteworthy. Iran is controlled by a violent, radical, Marxian regime backed by our bigger enemies Russia and China and by the regional bedfellow Turkey. All of this perhaps provides justification for war, but Rep. Thomas Massie is nevertheless right, it should have happened in the constitutional fashion and under the authority of Congress.
The most grating thing about this saga is that the “peace president” Donald Trump has followed the tradition of past U.S. presidents in violating the U.S. Constitution and taking the nation to war without a declaration by Congress. Yes, precedents exist. Yes, the War Powers Act is a thing. Yes, other presidents have done it. And yes, the American People appear to support wars without declarations. By these metrics, President Trump is doing nothing illicit, untoward, or abnormal.
The fact is, however, that the American People couldn’t quote the Constitution to save their lives. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 states that Congress is given the authority to “declare war.” Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 states, “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.”
The Founding Fathers gave the federal government’s sole power and authority to declare war to Congress. Of course, declaring war means to wage war. No one else in our government may declare or wage war – certainly not the President. The historical precedent of executives, emperors, and dictators unilaterally taking a nation to war is too dangerous to allow. No single individual, on his say-so alone, should be allowed to commit an entire nation to war – especially when he will never step foot in the warzone himself.
James Madison wrote the following in “Helvidius” No. 4 in 1793. Please heed his wise words:
“Every just view that can be taken of this subject, admonishes the public, of the necessity of a rigid adherence to the simple, the received and the fundamental doctrine of the constitution, that the power to declare war including the power of judging of the causes of war is fully and exclusively vested in the legislature: that the executive has no right, in any case to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war: that the right of convening and informing Congress, whenever such a question seems to call for a decision, is all the right which the constitution has deemed requisite or proper: and that for such more than for any other contingency, this right was specially given to the executive.
“In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace to the legislature, and not to the executive department. Beside the objection to such a mixture of heterogeneous powers: the trust and the temptation would be too great for any one man: not such as nature may offer as the prodigy of many centuries, but such as may be expected in the ordinary successions of magistracy. War is in fact the true nurse of executive aggrandizement. In war a physical force is to be created, and it is the executive will which is to direct it. In war the public treasures are to be unlocked, and it is the executive hand which is to dispense them. In war the honors and emoluments of office are to be multiplied; and it is the executive patronage under which they are to be enjoyed. It is in war, finally, that laurels are to be gathered, and it is the executive brow they are to encircle. The strongest passions, and most dangerous weaknesses of the human breast; ambition, avarice, vanity, the honorable or venial love of fame, are all in conspiracy against the desire and duty of peace.”
Is Trump the “prodigy” we may trust with this immense power? Can any one man be trusted with this power? I would trust exceedingly few men now living with this godlike power – the most consequential power delegated to any government.
So, let’s be clear: The President is only the Commander in Chief of the military “when called into actual Service of the United States” by the Congress. Only in situations of imminent and real threat may the President direct the Armed Forces to go to war in defense of American lives, property, and interests. Even then, Congress must ratify the decision for the military action to lawfully and constitutionally continue.
The Congress, however, has neglected and abdicated its authority, tacitly giving it away to the Executive Branch. The last time Congress exercised its authority to formally declare war was 1942 after FDR deliberately goaded Japan into striking Pearl Harbor and we entered a war in which we should have never been involved. Now, with Trump’s decision to strike Iran, if we want the war to continue – and don’t semantically pretend this is not a war like Putin does with his war on Ukraine – then Congress must meet, discuss, and declare war. Otherwise, the entire operation is unconstitutional and a violation of the Constitution like every war since World War II.
Since the Second World War, Congress has unconstitutionally permitted the President to take us to war under various justifications. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 is the most enduring justification. Under the Resolution, “the President is required to submit a written report to Congress within 48 hours of deploying U.S. Armed Forces unless Congress has declared war or authorized the use of force.” It further “provides for the automatic termination of the use of U.S. forces engaged in hostilities 60 days after the President has reported (or was required to report) on the use of force as described above unless Congress has declared war, statutorily authorized the use of force, enacted legislation extending this period of time, or is physically unable to meet due to an attack on the United States. The President may extend the use of force for an additional 30 days by certifying in writing to Congress a continued need due to “unavoidable military necessity.””
In this way, Congress and the President both circumvent the Constitution and their oaths of office. As of this writing, however, I am unaware of President Trump’s compliance with the War Powers Resolution. Ironically, his administration has previously questioned its constitutionality. Under what authority, then, is Trump acting? Where is Congress? Every branch of our runaway government is out of harmony with the Constitution and is under the control of criminals.
However, there is legitimate precedent that permits war without a declaration. Whether you think Operation Epic Fury qualifies is up to you. In 1801, newly elected President Thomas Jefferson authorized the U.S. Navy to open fire on Islamic pirates in North Africa who had declared war on the United States. He did so while Congress was on recess, technically violating the letter of the law. When they reconvened months later, Congress supported military action, which was a defensive action against a hostile enemy, approving and authorizing force without a declaration.
In defensive wars, therefore, Congress has usually, from the beginning of the Republic, authorized war without a declaration. In fact, Congress has only declared war 11 times even though we have been at war for most of our 250-year history. However, we have strayed so far from the spirit and letter of the Constitution that we simply go to war, bomb nations, and carry out military operations against anywhere, anywhere, anytime without regard to the Constitution, Congress, or the voice of the American People. This must cease. The Constitution must be followed, or we have no legitimate country. Except in the most extreme circumstances, rule of law always supersedes rule of men.
We can no longer tolerate weak men like Florida Congressman Randy Fine calling constitutionally minded representatives like Kentucky’s Thomas Massie “idiots,” as Rep. Fine did on Right Side Broadcasting Network Saturday, for demanding that we honorably follow the Constitution. The Constitution is our national compact. It is, as I have belabored for years in my writings, a literally God-inspired covenant. We have no Republic if we abandon the Constitution. Our noble Founding Fathers would be shocked and appalled that we have so explicitly ignored the Supreme Law of the Land which they took such pains to establish. George Washington would be particularly ashamed, having declared, “[T]he Constitution is the guide which I never can abandon” (George Washington to the Boston Selectmen, July 28, 1795).
Now, there is another point to make concerning the trustworthiness of Congress. A strict construction of the Constitution aside, what would happen if the President took secret and pressing war plans to Congress? For instance, what might have happened if the urgent intel that the Ayatollah and dozens of his top men were gathered at his palace, presenting a perfect strike opportunity, had been given to Congress? Can any of us believe that this news would not have leaked to Iran? I don’t believe that Congress could have kept the secret, and the Ayatollah and his henchmen may yet live. It is a tragic observation that our situation is so awful that we cannot trust the People’s “representatives” with our best interests.
All of this reminds us of Rome in the turbulent days of Caesar. I have a radically different view of Julius Caesar than most. One day, I may put my thoughts on paper because of the stark parallels between Trump and Caesar (note, I did not say negative parallels). Trump, the populist, is loved by the American People yet is routinely stabbed in the back by a corrupt Congress and political Establishment that resist and undermine his reforms, just as Caesar was beloved by the people of Rome but hated and stabbed in the back – literally – by the corrupt aristocratic Senate that was bent on resisting Caesar’s reforms and protecting its own power and privilege. Trump may yet follow Caesar’s example etched into history on the Ides of March, and God help us on that day! But I digress.
Circling back to Operation Epic Fury, Iran has launched missiles against U.S. bases and civilian targets in 16 countries, including the EU nation of Cyprus. Many of their missiles have evaded Israeli defenses, hammering targets around the country. Israel has been forced to use a secretive laser weapon to target incoming missiles. Supporters of the Iranian regime have stormed U.S. government outposts such as our consulates in Iraq and Pakistan, leaving dozens of rioters dead. The U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia is also on fire from a massive drone strike. The IRGC has killed the internet across Iran, declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to all maritime traffic, and attacked several oil tankers.
The Iranian Navy has been struck, including all 11 ships it had operating in the Gulf of Oman, essentially fulfilling President Trump’s to obliterate their Navy. They have vowed to fight to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. They have not yet mined the Strait, but it is a possibility. Reports also suggest that Iran’s most advanced missiles have not yet been fired. Iran’s initial retaliation was curiously restrained and sporadic, likely due to a lack of leadership to issue orders and because of damage done to launchers by airstrikes. However, their attacks have intensified over the past two days, and time will tell what other plans they will initiate, such as potential sleeper cell attacks.
Thus far, six American servicemen are dead. Three F-15 jets were also shot down today, though they were shot down not by Iran but by friendly fire from Kuwait. All pilots ejected safely. Even the U.S. government and Pentagon have warned us that the death toll will rise.
Now, we turn to official statements made by President Trump. His initial announcement of the war, which should be read or watched in full, says in essence that Iran has attacked and vexed us for too long, that we are fighting back, that they will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, and that the Iranian people will get their country back. The substantive portions of the address state:
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people.
“Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted ‘Death to America’ and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries. Among the regime’s very first acts was to back a violent takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding dozens of American hostages for 444 days. In 1983, Iran’s proxies carried out the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 American military personnel. In 2000, they knew and were probably involved with the attack on the USS Cole.
“Many died. Iranian forces killed and maimed hundreds of American service members in Iraq. The regime’s proxies have continued to launch countless attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years, as well as U.S. naval and commercial vessels in international shipping lands. It’s been mass terror, and we’re not going to put up with it any longer.
“From Lebanon to Yemen and Syria to Iraq, the regime has armed, trained and funded terrorist militias that have soaked the earth with blood and guts, and it was Iran’s proxy, Hamas, that launched the monstrous October 7 attacks on Israel, slaughtering more than 1,000 innocent people, including 46 Americans, while taking 12 of our citizens hostage. It was brutal, something like the world has never seen before.
“Iran is the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror and just recently killed tens of thousands of its own citizens on the street as they protested. It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular, my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I’ll say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon. That is why, in Operation Midnight Hammer last June, we obliterated the regime’s nuclear program at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. After that attack, we warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons, and we sought repeatedly to make a deal. We tried. They wanted to do it. They didn’t want to do it. Again, they wanted to do it. They didn’t want to do it. They didn’t know what was happening. They just wanted to practice evil, but Iran refused, just as it has for decades and decades.
“They rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore. Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and to continue developing long-range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach the American homeland. Just imagine how emboldened this regime would be if they ever had and actually were armed with nuclear weapons as a means to deliver their message. For these reasons, the United States military has undertaken a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated. We are going to annihilate their navy. We are going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces, and no longer use their IEDs or roadside bombs, as they are sometimes called to so gravely wound and kill thousands and thousands of people, including many Americans.
“And we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It’s a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon . . . the Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war, but we’re doing this not for now. We’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission. . . .
“Finally, to the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations. For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let’s see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass. May God bless the brave men and women of America’s Armed Forces. May God bless the United States of America. May God bless you all.”
The reasoning is compelling. Who can deny Iran’s attacks on Americans through the years? Yes, the CIA has meddled in Iran (and everywhere else). Yes, the U.S. government lies routinely. Yes, we have waged unjustified war before. Yes, the War on Terror was a fraud. All of that is true. Yet it is also true that Iran is ruled by murderers who have not only murdered tens of thousands of their own people and oppressed a nation of 93 million people, but have murdered numerous American soldiers and citizens, attacked American ships, and verbally vowed to destroy us. The only thing that is a surprise is that we waited so long to retaliate against Iran.
On Sunday, President Trump gave an update on the way. A small excerpt states:
“[T]he only reason we enjoy the quality of life that we do and the freedom and security is we have done things that others are unable to do. But it’s because of warriors who are willing to lay down their lives to do battle with our enemies. And they do battle better than anybody. An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a dire threat to every American. We cannot allow a nation that raises terrorist armies to possess such weapons, would allow them to extort the world to their evil will. Not going to let it happen. We’re not happening to us, and we’re not going to let it happen to others.
“The United States has the strongest military the world has ever seen. I rebuilt our military in my first term. There’s never been a military like we possess, and frankly, there’s nobody even close. But we are now using that military for good. We want to have it for a good purpose. We’re undertaking this massive operation not merely to ensure security for our own time and place, but for our children and their children, just as our ancestors have done for us many, many years ago.
“This is the duty and the burden of a free people. These actions are right and they are necessary to ensure that Americans will never have to face a radical, bloodthirsty terrorist regime armed with nuclear weapons and lots of threats. For almost 50 years, these wicked extremists have been attacking the United States while chanting the slogan, “Death to America” or “Death to Israel” or both. They are the world’s number one state sponsor of terror. We are the world’s greatest and most powerful nation, so we can do something about what they do. These intolerable threats will not continue any longer.
“I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military, police, to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death. It will be certain death. Won’t be pretty. I call upon all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be heroic, and take back your country. America is with you. I made a promise to you, and I fulfilled that promise. The rest will be up to you, but we’ll be there to help.
“Thank you. God bless you to our incredible warriors.
“And God bless the United States of America.”
More recently, the President warned that “the big one” is coming – a powerful strike on Iran. He also said that operations will likely continue for 4-5 weeks. He dismissed the idea of boots on the ground unless it was “necessary.” Secretary of Defense Hegseth likewise said it would be “foolish” to repeat the folly of Iraq by physical occupation yet wouldn’t completely rule out boots on the ground. Both men have spoke of a limited war to end the Iranian military threat. Time will tell whether this hope is realized.
My prediction is that the job will be left incomplete. I hope and pray I am wrong, but when I open the Bible, I see that Persia is prophesied to be one of the nations to descend upon Israel in the Battle of Armageddon (Ezekiel 38). It may be that President Trump cuts short the mission, withdraws U.S. forces, and allows the situation in Iran to run its own course, resulting in another radical regime or at least one less free and functional than ought to exist, setting up a situation in which Iran is able to mobilize against Israel in a future conflict. It is an interest thought experiment to contemplate what might prompt much of the world to unite against Israel in physical war and invasion. A false-flag attack, perhaps of the nuclear variety, blamed on Israel would likely do the trick. Again, time will tell.
The point of all of this is that Jesus Christ is the Holy One of Israel, the Almighty God, the Redeemer and King of the world, the Savior of those who believe in Him and come to Him in faith. He was crucified by the Romans after being betrayed by the Jews. Yet He rose from the grave, bursting the bands of death and defeating Satan. He is returning to reign as King of kings very soon.
We have more tragedy, war, bloodshed, famine, and horrors to live through, but the Master is coming back soon to set His house in order. Those who believe they will be raptured out of the earth prior to the suffering will find their faith misplaced. The Jews, likewise, will find that they will be scourged until they embrace their true Messiah who is Christ Jesus. The faithful followers of Christ will be required to endure the wars and plagues the same as the wicked and unbelieving. How spiritually prepared are you to weather the storm? Are you wise, having built upon the rock of your Redeemer? (Matthew 7:24-27)
The Lord told us exactly what kinds of storms we must endure:
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
“All these are the beginning of sorrows. . . .
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:6-8, 13).
Pray from your heart for U.S. and Israeli troops in harm’s way, even if you oppose the war and the politicians who started it. Pray for our people in the region, even if you don’t think we should be involved in the region. Pray for the families of the slain American soldiers because they are your brothers and sisters. Pray for the oppressed people of Iran and that the spirit of the Lord, which is the spirit of Liberty, will rest upon them (2 Corinthians 3:17). Pray for President Trump and other U.S. leaders, even if you despise them. Pray for the Lord’s humble followers in all lands. Pray for America. Pray for yourself and your own family to be led to be where the Lord wants you, because, sadly, this is just the beginning of sorrows.
The American Citadel 