NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Operation Epic Fury is the right war at the right time. And, informed by the failures of the Bush and Obama/Biden administrations, it is being fought the right way. Critics on the left and right make similar arguments: “Illegal war of choice,” “unwinnable quagmire,” “war makes mullahs more extremist,” and even “Trump is a Jewish puppet.” These criticisms, and many of those who offer them, are far from reality. First of all, Epic Fury is a fair and correct war. Since 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has owed a blood debt to the American people. But so far, American policymakers have generally failed to collect this debt, much less effectively manage the regime’s ongoing threat to American interests, regional peace, and international economic stability. This is due in part to the regime’s dangerous “revolutionary” Islamic supremacist ideology driving Iran’s aggression against the United States and Israel; justifies its brutal domestic repression and foreign adventurism, including massive investments in Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iraqi terrorist groups; and promotes its development of advanced offensive ballistic missile, drone and nuclear weapons capabilities. A rational actor would not spend billions subsidizing terrorist tunnels and missiles in Gaza and Lebanon when its own citizens lack clean water and reliable electricity. But the mullahs, like other “revolutionary” authoritarians, have different incentives. IRAN IS NOT A NORMAL NATION WITH WHICH YOU CAN DO BUSINESS; IT’S A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY Second, Epic Fury was released at a uniquely favorable time because the regime has never been weaker. Historically, mullahs relied on geography, oil revenues, and regional proxies for their strategic deterrence. The diplomatic and military options of the United States and its allies were limited by the possibility that the regime could close the Strait of Hormuz and disrupt international oil supplies, and by the fact that the usefulness of our economic sanctions was limited by strong commercial demand for Iranian oil and the political influence of the nations and networks that moved Iranian money. The representatives of the Islamic Republic, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, protected Iran from its regional enemies. DISTRESS CALL CAPTURES OIL PLANT UNDER FIRE, IRAN SHUTS HORMUZ TRAPPING THOUSANDS OF SAILORS But President Trump’s policy of American energy dominance and the rejuvenation of the US military have essentially turned Iran’s geography and oil resources into a strategic nonentity. Similarly, the regime’s power shield has been undone. Israel convincingly defeated Hamas and Hezbollah, then decimated Iran’s military and scientific leadership and fatally degraded the regime’s strategic air defense capabilities in the “12 Day War” of June 2025. Assad fell and the Houthis bowed to a combination of American determination and punishing military strikes. And thanks to the US blockade, economic sanctions and strong diplomatic engagement with the Gulf Arab states and China, the Iranian economy is collapsing rapidly. The mullahs have been left naked and naked. Third, this war is being fought the right way. In an article for Tablet magazine, commentator Michael Doran describes the President as moving between “two shipwrecks”: the first, George W. Bush’s regime change war in Iraq, and the second, the Obama/Biden appeasement program of paying the mullahs for quiet, pandering to his regional and nuclear aspirations, preventing Israel from dealing hard blows to Hamas and Hezbollah, and calling it peace. Doran is generally right. FINISHING THE JOB: WHY A HALF WAR WITH IRAN IS THE MOST DANGEROUS OUTCOME Epic Fury is certainly not the global war on terrorism. Epic Fury has strategic clarity: The president has made it clear that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, will not threaten international shipping, and will not attack, directly or through proxies, other states in the region. Consequently, the United States and its allies have focused on eliminating imminent threats posed by Iran’s missiles, naval forces, nuclear infrastructure, and security apparatus that enable indirect terrorism, while decapitating regime leaders and maintaining crippling pressure through unprecedented maritime interdictions and financial sanctions. Success is measured by killing the enemy, destroying their ability to attack Americans and our allies and partners, and ending the economic sources of their war machine. No American force is tasked with rebuilding Iranian society or reconciling its factions. On the contrary, the GWOT was paralyzed by inconsistency in its objectives, means and ends. Even GWOT’s name was meaningless, using the word “terror” as a euphemism for Islamic radicalism. On the ground, the political objectives of “nation-building” were expanded without a clear connection to the strategic objective. US forces, charged with local governance and security, had to endure two decades of fighting under crippling and ineffective rules of engagement. After more than 7,000 American deaths, 50,000 American injuries, and more than $5 trillion in American taxpayer spending, the end was not democracy and social change in the Middle East, but Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. BUT ENDING THINGS IS MUCH HARDER Epic Fury is surely also not a continuation of the failed and morally failed appeasement policies of Obama and Biden: President Trump has acted decisively and effectively to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon. Obama/Biden policy was to pave the way for the Iranians to develop such a device and provided sanctions relief and other payments as they progressed. Operation Epic Fury is strategically sound and superbly executed. The United States has air supremacy. Much of the Islamic Republic’s political and military leadership is dead. Layered defensive networks have significantly mitigated the threat from Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and the blockade of ships bound for or leaving Iranian ports has stifled Iranian oil exports and commercial trade. Treasury’s “economic D-Day” has launched unprecedented secondary sanctions targeting the mullah’s bankers, digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, cutting off all economic lifelines propping up the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. And at every step, the Trump Administration’s close cooperation with Israel and our other regional friends and partners has been an important force multiplier. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP History teaches that the final phase of war against a fanatical and despotic enemy is difficult and unpredictable. But President Trump has shown that he, uniquely, has the courage to stay the course and the will to finally settle the mullahs’ score. The truth is this: America is winning. Reed D. Rubinstein is senior vice president of the America First Legal Foundation. He served as General Counsel to the U.S. Department of State from 2025 to 2026 and previously served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General, General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Education, and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury. He has more than 30 years of experience in private practice and government.
