Hussein Aboubakr Mansour
Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, June 17, 2025
“Iran is unquestionably the weakest link in the global axis of anti-American disruption, which includes our most bitter rivals, China and Russia.”
Entering their fifth day, Israel’s sustained and extraordinary operations against Iran have demonstrated remarkable strategic precision and military effectiveness. Complete air superiority was quickly established, allowing Israel to freely target Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, including reported strikes on centrifuge halls at Natanz and uranium conversion facilities at Fordow, disrupting enrichment capacity and neutralizing key military leadership. In response, Iran’s estimated salvo of 370 ballistic missiles as of this writing launched from western Iran saw a majority intercepted by Israel’s Arrow and David’s Sling systems, with U.S. naval assets providing critical support.
While most missiles have been neutralized, several have penetrated, resulting thus far in approximately two dozen Israeli fatalities. The dramatic events unfolding since Thursday mark a potentially transformative moment for regional and global strategic dynamics. Given these developments and the stakes involved, the United States should decisively join Israeli operations to ensure the complete, swift destruction of the Iranian nuclear program.
If there is ever an opportunity for the United States to decisively shape the outcome of a critical regional conflict – one with direct and immediate implications for American security and strategic interests, as well as those of its key allies – it is an absolute strategic obligation to seize it. Hesitation, ambiguity, or delay is unacceptable policy. This is, above all, about securing U.S. national security and vital interests. Any hesitation now would represent not caution, but dangerous irresponsibility. In this regard, President Trump’s clear and decisive statements stand out sharply, a necessary contrast to the pattern of hesitation and self-defeating strategic incoherence coming out of other countries.
To fully grasp why immediate action is strategically imperative, we must clearly establish both motive and opportunity. First, preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is an absolute and paramount American national security interest. Iran is an openly hostile regime – a declared enemy of the United States – which has actively targeted American soldiers, citizens, and interests for decades. …..SOURCE