By John J. MetzlerThe die has been cast. American stealth B-2 bombers swooped down on Iran’s nuclear weapons enrichment targets and dealt a presumably knock-out blow to the Islamic Republic’s longtime dream of possessing a nuclear weapon.
Three nuclear sites were hit in pulverizing raids using the massive “bunker buster” bombs. Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, were targeted amid the wider Israel/Iran war which has assumed a new dynamic given direct U.S. involvement.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated, the U.S. “Devastated the Iranian nuclear program” with the multiple B-2 strikes. Secretary Hegseth added, “This mission was not, and has not been about regime change.”
Following the surprise attacks President Donald Trump called on Iran to “make peace,” warning future attacks on Iran would be “far greater.”
Later in a joint statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they have been “consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon” and they support the security of Israel. Regarding the U.S. military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, “Our aim continues to be to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”
UK Prime Minister Starmer stated the U.S. has taken action to “alleviate” the threat the Iranian nuclear program poses but he remains focused on “de-escalation.” Germany's Chancellor defended Israel's earlier attacks on Iran, saying it was “dirty work Israel is doing for all of us.”
Following the U.S. operations against Iran, Germany’s Merz called on Teheran to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Israel and the U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Iran “played” the U.S. in negotiations over their nuclear program, prompting President Trump to take action. He told <em>Fox News Sunday Morning Futures</em> program that “We are not declaring war on Iran. We’re not looking for war in Iran. But if they attack us, I think we have the capabilities they haven’t even seen yet.”
Yet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sounded a note of caution, “There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control, with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world.”
During what was described as “flawless operational security,” Operation Midnight Hammer the bat-like B-2 bombers flew from U.S. bases nonstop with air to air refueling to reach military targets in Iran.
Some pundits described the momentous raid as a “military masterpiece” which changes the regional balance of power.
Indeed, the Islamic Republic of Iran has long served as a state sponsor of terrorism. In recent years the Teheran regime has moved closer to nuclear enrichment which would then allow them to finally acquire nuclear weapons, granting Iran an unparalleled intimidation factor not only against Israel but of nearby Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies.
President Trump has regularly and consistently declared that Iran must not have a nuclear weapon. The President proved the credibility of American deterrence.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon warned the Security Council, “You cannot protect peace, by appeasing evil.”
Victoria Coates, a former U.S. Deputy National Security advisor told Fox News that the current action is not about starting a new war with Iran, but “actually ending one” going back nearly 50 years since the creation of the Islamic Republic in 1979. Washington and Teheran have long been at loggerheads since the infamous U.S. Embassy “Hostage Crisis” and continuing Iranian actions against American military interests in the Middle East.
Shall Iran retaliate against the U.S. using sleeper agent cells infiltrated into America over formerly open borders?
We then face another issue. Pundits and politicians talk about Iran’s nuclear weapons posing an existential threat to regional and indeed world peace. But let’s be clearer. The Islamic Republic of Iran, with nuclear weapons, even a few, poses a peril to the Middle East and to Europe too.
Let's refine the argument and declare that a nuclear-armed Iran, given the bellicose rhetoric of its regime for decades towards Israel and the United States, poses a clear and present danger to global peace and stability.
Thus, it remains clearly in the National Interest to eliminate this threat at its source.
Secretary Rubio told Face the Nation, “This is very simple. The President wants to resolve this diplomatically and peacefully. He gave them a chance to do that … What happens next is up to the regime.”
Israel/Iran have reached a ceasefire. The political reverberations of the air attacks are being felt. The Ayatollah Khamenei would be wise to listen.
John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of Divided Dynamism the Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China (2014).
Free Press International
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