Trump’s Presidency Is Now in Iran’s Hands
The U.S. has launched combat operations despite little public support and widespread fears among allies.
More than an hour after missiles began targeting top Iranian officials across downtown Tehran, President Trump for the first time described his goal to the American public: for the most powerful armed factions in Iran to lay down their arms and for Iranians to rise up and risk death by seizing control of their government.
In an eight-minute address on Truth Social that amounted to a declaration of war, Trump also acknowledged the possibility of American casualties. Within three hours of the initial strike, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched ballistic missiles at four nearby U.S. bases, and the sound of air defenses shooting down missiles reverberated across the region. Iranian forces successfully struck inside Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Air defenses appeared to have shot down missiles aimed at Qatar (home to the largest U.S. military base in the region), the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait (which also host American forces), and Israel, which joined U.S. forces in the attack. Jordan, where American aircraft are parked, also said it shot down missiles.
The last U.S. strikes on Iran, in June, were aimed at curtailing Iran’s nuclear ambitions. This time, Trump went much further, making clear his desire for a change in Iran’s leadership for the first time in 47 years as well as for the elimination of its nuclear and ballistic-missile development programs. He is pursuing that war without congressional approval, with little appetite among his base for another U.S. regime-change operation in the Middle East, and with several allies in the region having discouraged new strikes, fearing a broader conflict. That leaves Trump in a position to claim personal credit for any successful parts of the mission—he said “no president was willing to do what I am doing tonight”—but also singularly associated with whatever happens next in Iran and across the Middle East. He will receive the accolades for whatever goes well, but will also be saddled with the many possible downsides, including U.S. and civilian casualties as well as the instability that could be unleashed if the Iranian regime falls in the face of the American and Israeli onslaught.
