VICTOR JOECKS: Israel, US must finish the job in Iran

An old military adage states, “The enemy gets a vote.” And it’s a lot better if the enemy isn’t voting with nuclear weapons.

In less than a week, Israel has set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions and decimated its military leadership. Israel successfully bombed several sites connected to Iran’s nuclear program, including the Natanz fuel enrichment plant. It killed Iran’s top nine nuclear scientists. Iran’s response has been weak. This is a one-sided wipeout, not World War III.

At this point, the U.S. military hasn’t been directly involved. It does seem as if President Donald Trump engaged in some misinformation efforts to convince Iran that a strike wasn’t imminent. Iran apparently bought it, making it more vulnerable to the Israeli attack.

Israel diminishing Iran’s nuclear capabilities is great news for America because Iran’s leaders hate America. More bluntly, they want to murder you.

Last month, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei praised a crowd for chanting “Death to America.” When Iran’s new president was sworn in last year, Iran’s parliament chanted “Death to America.” The chant dates back several decades.

It’s not an idle threat. In 1983, Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group, bombed an American military barracks in Beirut. The attack killed 241 U.S. troops. In 2019, the Pentagon estimated that Iranian-backed militias had killed more than 600 U.S. service members in Iraq. In 2024, Iranian-backed militias launched a drone attack that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan.

But not everyone is happy about Israel’s actions. A vocal component of Trump’s coalition, led by Tucker Carlson, is quite upset. “Washington knew these attacks would happen,” Carlson’s Friday newsletter stated. “They aided Israel in carrying them out. Politicians purporting to be America First can’t now credibly turn around and say they had nothing to do with it.”

Never one to shy away from a slap fight, Trump fired back, calling Carlson “kooky.” Trump added that one of the things “America First” means is that “Iran can not have a nuclear weapon.”

Some Americans have a self-reflective and historically illiterate view of the world. It holds that because most Americans don’t care about Iran, Iran’s obsession with destroying America must be our fault. If only we would leave them alone.

A better explanation is that Iran’s leaders have vastly different foundational values. While they hide out in bunkers, they happily sacrifice their country’s blood and treasure to attack their enemies.

That threat is exponentially more concerning if Iran has nuclear weapons.

There is one Iranian nuclear facility that appears to have escaped unscathed. The Fordow nuclear enrichment plant is built into the side of a mountain. It will probably take “bunker buster” bombs dropped by an American B-2 to take it out. News reports suggest Trump is weighing that option.

Ideally, Iran will surrender its nuclear program, and the United States won’t need to get involved militarily. But if it doesn’t, Trump should direct the Air Force to take out Fordow.

A nuclear Iran is an unacceptable risk to America. Thank Israel for its heroic work and then finish the job.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.