Peloni: We stand at the precipice of multiple geopolitical dynamics, all of which might be settled in America’s favor should any coming strike on Iran be used to end the current regime rather than to try to mold it towards accepting a limited nuclear deal, the terms of which will ultimately lead to a nuclear Iran in the coming years in any event. Indeed, America has the means to change the face of the world by revolutionizing the Middle East with a regime changing strike on Iran. It will decapitate the long arms of terror which today extend into Europe, across the Middle East, and even reach into the Americas with ever greater penetration. It will also leave the terror laden lands of Houthi led Yemen and Hezbollah led Lebanon in a state of earnest national struggle which has been otherwise controlled and manipulated from Tehran for far too long. Additionally, it will free the Iranian people, leaving them to choose their own path into the future over the state of subjugation in which they have been abandoned to face for the past 50 years. And it will permanently lead to the end of the twin threat of Iran’s nuclear capabilities and its ballistic missile production. All of these benefits, in addition to the turmoil which will be cast into the minds and goals of American adversaries around the world, can come to fruition in the coming days if America demonstrates the political will to lead the world away from the brink of the Armageddonist dreams of the Mullahs and back towards supporting American interests in Iran, which was once one of America’s greatest allies in the Middle East, and could soon come to be so again…but not while pursuing limited strikes in the likely coming conflict.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Now Faces the Largest U.S. Military Deployment Since the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
Michael Rubin | MEF | February 26, 2026
An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, launches from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 15, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathaly Cruz)
With two aircraft carrier strike groups converging on Iran and bombers readied at Diego Garcia, the Islamic Republic of Iran now faces the largest U.S. military deployment since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
While progressive Democrats and libertarian Republicans question Trump’s authority to act, Congress long ago forfeited its credibility on the issue with its failure to stand up to Trump’s predecessors. Representatives can criticize, and pundits fill copy, but when Trump doubts the authority of the Supreme Court, the idea that a pointed speech or critical op-ed about the need for an Authorization for the Use of Military Force would change his mind is insane.
While Trump put U.S. legitimacy on the line when, on January 2, 2026, he declared, “If Iran violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
The Iranian regime subsequently murdered upwards of 35,000 protestors and bystanders, putting Trump and U.S. credibility on the line. Trump subsequently suggested that he won an agreement to stop imminent executions, but Iranians now say that executions continue.
Should Trump walk away from his call to action and redlines, he merely follows the precedent set by George H.W. Bush, who called on the Iraqi people to oust Saddam only to walk away when the Ba’athist regime started massacring those who rose up, and also Barack Obama, who walked back his redline on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons. Trump, however, has sought to differentiate himself from Bush and Obama, not become their second coming.
Seldom has there been a looming military campaign whose goals are so unclear. The elder Bush sent forces to the Middle East to liberate Kuwait. His son returned forces to oust Saddam and establish a democracy in the heart of the Middle East. Obama entered the Libyan theater due to a “responsibility to protect.”
Iranian people and opposition need to rise and form insurgency to topple regime. USA and Israel should covertly support this and maybe they already are.
@Rafi
Let us hope so.