
The United States launched combat operations against the Islamic Republic of Iran, marking the first direct engagement in roughly two weeks. The author contrasts this brief conflict with a 47‑year history of Iranian aggression and U.S. involvement in the Middle East. He criticizes past strategies that focused on occupying territory and the vague "Global War on Terror" label, arguing they failed to target the underlying ideology. The piece calls for a shift toward an enemy‑oriented approach that confronts Iran’s theocratic ambitions directly.

American Security First argues that U.S. policymakers have repeatedly mishandled Iran, from Carter’s missed opportunities to Obama’s covert cash transfers and Biden’s JCPOA revival. The author warns that the Trump administration’s hard‑line stance should not translate into regime‑change wars, emphasizing...