U.S.-Israel Joint Action Against Iran Is Just and Necessary

ight days ago the United States and Israel launched a just and necessary military campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran aimed at eliminating the multifarious military threats posed by the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. The early stages of America’s Operation Epic Fury and Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion have produced astonishing achievements. The joint action has already severely weakened and may topple the brutal Islamist theocracy. Yet the Trump administration has given little evidence of gaming out the consequences for the post-war governance of Iran – a sprawling country of approximately 93 million persons, half of whom belong to non-Persian ethnic minorities.

On the morning of Feb. 28, the United States and Israel struck with force and precision. In the opening minutes of the battle, Israel destroyed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Tehran compound and with it the ayatollah himself, who had ruled Iran since 1989. Buried under the rubble as well were approximately 40 top members of the Iranian security establishment including the Supreme National Security Council secretary, the defense minister, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ground forces, the chief of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, and the Iranian army chief of staff. In the joint operation’s first 24 hours the United States and Israel hit more than 1,000 targets – air defenses, navy ships, command-and-control capabilities, and other military infrastructure.

The onslaught of the joint action has been unrelenting. By the second day, the United States and Israel had struck more than 2,000 targets including missile stockpiles, launchers, and IRGC installations. By the third day, President Trump announced that the military projected that it might take the United States four to five weeks to attain its objectives. By the fifth day, according to Secrtary of War Pete Hegseth, the United States and Israel were well on the way to achieving “complete control of Iranian skies” and had accelerated operations, with the United States concentrating on eliminating Iran’s missiles, defense-industrial base, and political and military leaders. By the end of the week, the United States and Israel had conducted more than 4,500 strikes, and President Trump stated on Truth Social that he had ruled out negotiations with Iran and that operations would not cease until Tehran agreed to “unconditional surrender.”