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Victor Davis Hanson, the Hoover Institution senior fellow, told viewers on Jesse Watters Primetime that the strategic picture against Iran now overwhelmingly favors the United States, arguing that the choices on the table put American power and resolve in the driver’s seat. His blunt assessment cut through the usual Beltway equivocation and reminded viewers that strategy, not sentiment, decides wars.
Those remarks land against the backdrop of the 2026 campaign with Iran that has seen U.S. and allied strikes, a naval blockade and intense operations around the Strait of Hormuz, making this a turning point in a conflict that could have dragged on indefinitely. The operational picture has changed rapidly, and Washington has more tools and leverage than many in the media admit.
Hanson has been consistent: Iran’s regime is fragmented and on borrowed time, and American military superiority—when paired with smart political pressure—can exploit those fractures to decisive effect. He stresses that Tehran’s internal divisions and the coalition of international opposition give the United States strategic options most analysts pretend don’t exist.
Yet Hanson also warns that political timidity at home and distraction in the press risk throwing away our advantage; public weariness and partisan bickering are the regime’s best friends. Conservative commentators rightly demand a policy that combines firmness with prudence, refusing to let the left’s instinct for retreat dictate outcomes while the enemy rebuilds.
The right response is not a blind rush to occupy foreign soil but a concentrated application of economic pressure, targeted military strikes where needed, and a naval posture that denies Iran the leverage it has long abused—precisely the mix Hanson has advocated in his strategic essays. That approach preserves U.S. lives, punishes bad actors, and forces a political reckoning inside Tehran without surrendering American credibility.
Leaders must now choose clarity over chaos: enforce the blockade, tighten sanctions, and use overwhelming but calibrated force when necessary to compel a settlement aligned with American interests. Anything less is an invitation to endless conflict or a humiliating retreat, and conservatives should demand nothing short of a policy that secures peace through strength.
