Let’s not gloat.
But let’s also not pretend we didn’t call it.

Last week, while the doomsday cult of legacy media and the hashtag generals of the Woke Right were sprinting in circles shouting World War III! Quagmire! Regime change! Forever war!, we offered a very different prediction: that this would be swift, surgical, and strategically sound—a modern echo of Gulf War I, not Iraq II.

And now here we are.
One week later.
No American casualties.
No endless war.
And most importantly: no nuclear Iran.

Let’s take a short, sober, glorious victory lap.

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Threading the Needle, Nukes Off the Table
The simple truth is this: there is no acceptable universe in which Iran possesses a nuclear weapon.

None. Not on this planet. Not in this timeline. Not under any President worth the name.

Iran had ample opportunities to show the world it wasn’t building nukes.
Instead, it repeatedly chose opacity, delay, obfuscation, and deception.
Why? Because it was building nukes. And everyone serious knew it.

The media lied to cover for them. The Biden administration funded them. And much of the West tried to bribe them into civility like some delusional nanny trying to convince a rabid dog not to bite by tossing it treats. It didn’t work. It never works.

Because the Islamic Republic of Iran isn’t a misunderstood neighbor—it’s a death cult in clerical robes, animated by apocalyptic theology and dedicated to exporting bloodshed. And under no circumstances can that ideology be armed with atomic weapons.

President Trump understood that. And instead of plunging us into some open-ended conflict, he did what only a master strategist could:
He decapitated the threat without toppling the regime.

A 36-hour operation. Zero American lives lost. A dagger to the heart of Iran’s nuclear apparatus.

No occupation. No endless nation-building. Just strength, clarity, and overwhelming precision.

You’d think the media would pause for reflection. Or humility. Or, God forbid, journalistic integrity.

But no.

These are the same outlets that spent years telling you Iran wasn’t even pursuing a bomb. Then, within 24 hours of the strike’s success, they pivoted seamlessly to “the strike failed and now Iran is only months away from getting a bomb.”

It’s not reporting—it’s schizophrenia with a press badge.

CNN’s ratings are in the toilet. MSNBC’s anchors look like grief counselors on ketamine. The only people watching them are airport gate agents and psychiatric patients in waiting rooms. But the gaslighting continues, because they’re not in the business of truth—they’re in the business of narrative control. And their narrative just got obliterated by 36 hours of American resolve.

he Woke Right Gets Egg on Its Face
Of course, the Left wasn’t alone in its hysteria. Much of the so-called Woke Right had a total meltdown too.

Candace Owens. Dave Smith. Tucker Carlson.
All wrapped themselves in “America First” slogans while opposing the single most America First military action in a generation.

These are people so blinded by their reflexive anti-Israel bias (and in some cases, anti-Jewish animus) that they couldn’t recognize a massive geopolitical win for America even when it was served to them on a silver platter with “no boots on the ground” carved into the lid.

They shouted WW3! while President Trump executed a flawless 100-hour victory without even using 1/1000th of the U.S. arsenal.

They screamed regime change! while Trump kept the focus laser-tight on denuclearization.

hey imagined a new Vietnam while the operation wrapped faster than the NBA Finals.

And now?

Crickets. Or worse—gaslighting and revisionism, pretending they never doubted it or that the whole thing was a mistake

But let’s zoom out.

Because the shockwaves of this strike may not just be military—they could be historic.

Rumors are emerging that a Trump-Netanyahu deal may be taking shape, one that includes:

A formal end to the Gaza war in two weeks

Hamas leadership exiled and Gaza governed by a coalition of Arab neighbors

A two-state framework for the West Bank

Several new countries joining the Abraham Accords and recognizing Israel

A regional security framework only possible without a nuclear-armed Iran

Let that sink in.

Not only did the U.S. and Israel eliminate the most existential threat to Middle Eastern peace, but they may have created the conditions for a diplomatic and economic renaissance across the region.

A realignment that sidelines terror, empowers trade, modernizes governance, and isolates extremism.

A Golden Age.

This is what peace through strength looks like.
Not empty slogans. Not fantasy diplomacy.
Real peace. Earned peace. Peace through credibility.

Mike Kimmelman