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President Trump warned the American people that the United States has begun “major combat operations” to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities and to annihilate its navy, and he publicly announced that multiple Iranian vessels have already been sunk in the opening strikes. The president’s blunt message — that the remaining ships “will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea” — was delivered to show strength where weakness once invited aggression.
This was not empty bluster. U.S. forces struck a Jamaran-class corvette at a Chah Bahar pier and targeted Iran’s naval headquarters in coordinated attacks, actions that neutralize immediate threats to commercial traffic and to American sailors operating in the region. Our Navy and joint forces moved decisively to deny Iran the ability to menace the Strait of Hormuz and to shield global energy supplies from blackmail by a rogue regime.
Patriots should understand why this was necessary: Iran and its proxies have for decades used maritime harassment and proxy warfare to threaten our allies and choke commerce, and the strategic lifeline that is the Strait of Hormuz cannot be left unprotected. By striking hard and fast, the United States and its partners are making clear that the era of appeasement is over and that American maritime dominance will be enforced.
Independent reporting and satellite imagery show major Iranian naval assets burning in port, and some accounts even suggest differing tallies of destroyed vessels, underscoring the fog of war as operations continue and assessments are finalized. These images are grim evidence that when a nation uses its navy to intimidate global trade and attack innocents, it accepts the consequences of forceful response. The facts on the water will continue to become clearer, but the message sent by American power is unmistakable.
Yes, this conflict carries cost. There have been reports of American casualties amid the strikes and counterstrikes, and the president himself warned that success might come at the price of brave lives — a hard truth that speaks to the stakes of defending freedom and preventing a nuclear-armed, missile-equipped Iran from controlling a vital region. The commander-in-chief has estimated the campaign’s timeline while warning it could extend as necessary to achieve lasting security for the United States and our allies.
To those in our political class who always lecture restraint from the safety of op-eds and think tanks: your reflexive calls for caution hand strength to our enemies and endanger American lives. Real leadership demands hard choices and clear resolve — backing our troops, empowering our commanders, and holding adversaries to account — and conservatives should be unapologetic in standing behind a president willing to act.
Now is the time for Americans of every stripe to rally behind our service members and to demand that Washington sustain the mission until our objectives are met. We owe our men and women in uniform unwavering support; show the same steel to our enemies that our military is showing on the sea and in the skies.
