Editorial: Will Iran continue down path of self-destruction?

Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial Board, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jun 24, 2025

Published in Op Eds

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President Donald Trump prefers to leave America’s enemies guessing, but there can now be little doubt that the United States is deadly serious about containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

On Saturday, the president gave the green light to Operation Midnight Hammer, which used stealth bombers to hit Iran’s nuclear development sites. Trump called the mission a success and implied the United States would take no further action unless American lives or interests were threatened.

Iran, in a face-saving measure, responded Monday by firing missiles at an American military base in Qatar. Nobody was injured and the missiles were destroyed, according to news reports. On social media, Trump called the response “very weak” and added, “Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”

Some critics of Trump’s actions questioned the efficacy of the bombings — and it’s true that we do not yet know the full extent of the damage inflicted. But while addressing the Board of Governors for the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday, agency chief Rafael Grossi noted that, “Craters are now visible at the Fordo site, Iran’s main location for enriching uranium at 60 percent, indicating the use of ground-penetrating munitions; this is consistent with statements from the United States.” While nobody has fully assessed the situation at Fordo, he said, “very significant damage is expected to have occurred” to the centrifuge machinery used to enrich uranium.

Israel, which has the run of the skies, followed up Monday with additional bombing missions to further degrade Iran’s capabilities.

This isn’t the United States or Trump choosing conflict. This is the U.S. and the administration responding to a belligerent nation that for years has been waging a silent war as an agent of terror and destabilization in the Middle East. But the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel — which could go down as one of the greatest military miscalculations in recent history — has left Iran on an island, many of its proxies and surrogates in shambles, exposing its weakness.

Trump seized the opportunity to act decisively. The move could have a long-term stabilizing effect on the region.

“The Islamic Republic is collapsing,” Reza Pahlavi, a son of the late last shah of Iran, said during a news conference Monday in Paris. “Credible reports indicate that Ali Khamenei’s family — and the families of senior regime officials — are making preparations to flee Iran. The regime is on its last legs, in towns and cities across the country. The military is fractured. The people are united. The foundations of this 46-year tyranny are shaking … This is our Berlin Wall moment.”

Made possible by the United States and Israel.

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