What the world witnessed this past week was not merely a military operation. It was the courageous act of a free nation — Israel — taking one of the bravest and most humane steps in recent memory to stop evil in its tracks. This tiny country, by itself, has begun putting an end to a "forever war" that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been waging on the West for 46 years. The potential success of such a David-vs-Goliath endeavor would not be possible without the strength, determination, and leadership of US President Donald J. Trump.
While many global leaders have stood by passively, hedging their words and calling for "restraint," Trump showed what true leadership looks like. He did not waver. He did not equivocate. He supported Israel in its fight on behalf of all of us in the Free World -- not just in words, but in action, strategy, and unwavering moral clarity.
Israel's bold, precise strikes on Iran's military and nuclear infrastructure were not acts of aggression -- they were acts of self-defense needed to protect the country's existence after hearing from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that, contrary to the claims -- twice -- of US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that Iran was not working on a bomb. If you are not working in a bomb, you do not need a Fordow uranium enrichment site.
Either Gabbard's information was worthless or she was lying to the public to promote a pacifist ideology. Either reason does not exactly inspire confidence. Israel had suffered the unspeakable horror of October 7, when Hamas terrorists, funded and armed by Iran and Qatar, invaded Israel and massacred civilians in cold blood. What other nation on earth would be told to "show restraint" after such a barbaric attack? Did the United States advocate "showing restraint" after 9/11? Yet, that is what most so-called Western leaders have done — telling Israel to have a cease-fire, hold back, limit its response, avoid "escalation." As if the original atrocity was not escalation enough.
Trump, to his immense credit, and contrary to the Biden administration, did not join that cowardly chorus. Instead, he did what only a true friend and a great leader would do: he stood by Israel -- a country the size of New Jersey being attacked on seven fronts -- with conviction and clarity.
While others tried to soften their language, Trump said after Israel's initial air strikes, said that the Israeli operation was "excellent." He reminded the world that he had given Iran 60 days -- a generous chance -- to stop advancing toward nuclear weapons. Iran refused the opportunity. Instead of pretending otherwise or hiding behind bureaucratic platitudes, Trump spoke plainly and powerfully: "They got hit hard... More to come."
Contrast this to the usual diplomatic playbook. How many world leaders immediately ran to the podium after the Hamas invasion in 2023 to pressure Israel to de-escalate and pretended that peace can be achieved by pacifying terrorists and tyrants? Whether such an approach is bad or good is immaterial: it does not work. How many of these politicians care more about being praised by the New York Times than about the future of their countries and the free world? These politicians probably imagine they are projecting virtue; in reality, they are simply projecting cowardice, while enabling violence and tyranny.
Those politicians seem concerned only with appearing "balanced," even when one side is clearly the aggressor and the other, the victim. Trump never fell into that trap. He made it clear that supporting Israel's right to defend itself is not just a strategic choice — it is a moral obligation.
Even in his first term, Trump showed backbone that must have maddened his detractors. He charted a course of unapologetic strength and moral clarity. He pulled the US out of the disastrous 2015 JCPOA Iran "nuclear deal," which was set to legitimize Iran's acquiring nuclear weapons in October 2025. He ordered the killing of Iran's leading terrorist, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani. Trump defeated Islamic State in Syria in a matter of weeks, moved the U.S. Embassy in to Jerusalem, Israel's rightful capital; then he brokered the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations.
Now, once again, when Israel needs a true ally — not just someone to offer sympathetic words then threaten to withhold weapons — Trump has offered consistent support. "Israel has to do what they have to do," he said.
When Iran, in its predictable fury, launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, the United States military — under Trump's leadership — has helped to intercept some of them. This is what real partnership looks like. Not lectures, not empty statements, but coordinated defense and mutual trust. Iran's hegemonic threats are failing because of the strength and cooperation between Israel and a United States, led by Trump. America finally has a president willing to act against terrorism.
This moment also makes clear that Trump's actions are not provoking World War III, they are preventing World War III – which Iran has been threatening for almost half a century. All that time, Iran has been on a path of escalation — arming terrorist proxies, developing for nuclear weapons, targeting U.S. troops in the Middle East more than 350 times just in the last five years and promising "Death to America" and genocide for Israel.
If the world had remained paralyzed by fear and indecision, if Israel had been pressured into backing down, the consequences could have been catastrophic: a green light for terrorists and aggressors to keep on going. Instead, Trump drew a red line — and when Iran's leadership crossed it, they paid the price.
This kind of Churchillian clarity does not cause chaos — it stops it, as the WWII allies did in the last century in Germany and Japan. Trump and Netanyahu deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for taking one of the world's greatest terrorist states off the table.
Strength does not invite war—it deters it. "When people see a strong horse and a weak horse," observed the late esteemed psychologist, Osama bin Laden, "they will naturally want to side with the strong horse." The Middle East is safer today not because of handshakes and summits and signed pieces of paper that usually one side disregards.
Russia disregarded the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, under which Russia, the United States and Ukraine agreed that Ukraine's borders would be respected in exchange for giving up the nuclear weapons it had at the time. And half a ton of documents showed that Iran had been cheating on its JCPOA "deal."
The Middle East is safer today because Israel struck after the IAEA admitted that Iran had been in breach of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations and because Israeli intelligence determined that Iran was on the brink of assembling a bomb -- and because the United States stood behind Israel.
To those who still criticize, who still think diplomacy alone can solve everything, the answer is simple. As the great Secretary of State George Shultz noted, "Negotiations are a euphemism for capitulation if the shadow of power is not cast across the bargaining table" -- in short, diplomacy works best when the enemy knows that it is backed up by force. Iran's leaders did not take Trump's 60-day warning seriously, probably because they did not believe he and Netanyahu had the courage to act. They also may be assuming that they can absorb a few blows and build back their nuclear weapons program after that – and precisely why it is crucial to destroy Fordow: to make sure no one can resuscitate it later..
The time for appeasement is over. For this, we owe our gratitude to three pillars: Trump, the USA under his leadership, and the brave people of Israel who refuse to be victims.
In a world increasingly dominated by appeasers, enablers and cowards, thank heaven for those who still have the courage to stand tall and fight evil. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, America. And thank you, Israel. May God bless you in this just and noble fight.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
