Photo: Alamy | Op-ed by Summer Lane
President Trump’s ordered precision strikes on Iran’s purported uranium enrichment facilities over the weekend caught the world by surprise, marking a historic moment for his administration and demonstrating the lethality of the U.S. military.
“Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
The strikes were clean and efficient. U.S. B-2 stealth bombers completed their mission in just 37 hours, and nobody saw it coming. It was a watertight operation, with no leaks from the Pentagon to the press ahead of the mission, and an admirable amount of misdirection to keep things secret.
Just last week, for example, President Trump said he would decide whether to move against Iran within the next “two weeks,” surprising everyone just two days later when he revealed a successful attack had already been carried out.
The targets were Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, and according to the president, it was a “very successful” operation that dismantled the uranium enrichment capabilities of Iran.
Despite doomsday predictions and criticisms from prominent members of the media, President Trump managed to not only pull off a clean and tight mission over the weekend, but also managed to secure a historic ceasefire between Israel and Iran on Monday, announcing the news in a triumphant Truth Social post:
“CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED! Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World.”
The president said each side would remain “PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL” during each ceasefire, and offered his congratulations to the future success of each country.
The announcement was the cherry on top of an already stunning operation.
Iran halfheartedly struck back to save face
Amid Iran’s conflict with Israel and the looming, watchful eyes of China and Russia, the United States’ position in the Middle East has never been more critical.
This spring, President Trump secured key economic alliances with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, outmaneuvering China and successfully strengthening American influence and power in the region.
With Israel as a longtime ally and Iran constantly beating the drums of nuclear war by refusing to stop uranium enrichment, the burning question was whether the United States would get involved in any direct capacity.
Clearly, President Trump opted to take a more direct approach, but he did so without deploying any troops.
On Monday, the president confirmed that Iran had symbolically retaliated against the United States by launching 14 missiles toward Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which Trump called a “weak response” that was “effectively countered.”
“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done. Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
It seems his prediction was accurate, given the president’s announcement of a ceasefire.
On Truth Social, he added just shortly before the announcement, “CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!”
This conflict proves that panicking helps nothing
It’s good and just to hold leaders accountable, but President Trump earned the benefit of the doubt after everything he and the country have been through together.
President Donald Trump promised to lead the nation through a policy of peace through strength, just as he did during his first term. When rumblings of conflict with Iran arose over the past few weeks, many critics immediately assumed that Trump would take America down a path to war, although there was no evidence to suggest this.
Now, in the wake of the president’s efficient operation to strike Iran and his announcement of a ceasefire, those who flamed President Trump as a warmonger are beginning to look pretty silly.
Shawn Farash, a conservative personality and host of “Ungoverned,” remarked on X of Iran’s tepid retaliatory missile strikes, “If anything, what Iran just did was the exact *OPPOSITE* of an escalation. No casualties. Didn’t even seem like the intent was to cause casualties since Iran gave the US advance warning of the ‘attack.’ This was a face-saving move, period. That should be the end of it.”
He’s right. This is most likely the end of it for Iran, even amid its hollow saber-rattling and blustering comments about closing the Strait of Hormuz to drive up oil prices. Besides, most of these rumblings came before the ceasefire was announced, underscoring Iran’s weakness and its intentions to bend the knee.
Dealing swiftly with Iran allows the Trump administration to focus on more pressing domestic agenda items, such as deportation, the economy, passing the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” and gearing up for the 2026 midterm elections.
It also shows just how effective Trump’s “peace through strength” policy is, demonstrating his desire for domestic stability, backed up by real military power when necessary.
No other president has made such strides for peace in decades – if ever. President Trump’s leadership on the Iranian issue has been masterful so far, and the ceasefire announcement on Monday was truly remarkable.
He will be remembered as a great peacemaker. There will never be another president like him, and America is immeasurably blessed to have him in the White House.