Operation Epic Fury is long overdue for US self-defense

Operation Epic Fury is long overdue. Since 1984, when the United States formally designated Iran a State Sponsor of Terrorism under the leadership of Ronald Reagan, the regime in Tehran has defined itself in direct opposition to the freedoms America defends. For more than four decades, that hostility, echoed in chants of ‘Death to America’, has gone far beyond rhetoric. It has been lethal. 

The pattern is unmistakable. In 1983, a bombing tied to Hezbollah and backed by Iran killed 241 American servicemembers at the Marine barracks in Beirut. In Iraq, Iranian-trained militias deployed explosively formed penetrators (EFPs), sophisticated roadside bombs responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American troops. Rather than confront the United States openly, Iran relied on proxies to attack Americans while attempting to shield itself from direct accountability.  

At the center of this strategy stands the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Through its Quds Force, the regime has funded, armed, and directed Hezbollah, Hamas, Shi’a militias in Iraq and Syria as well as other terrorist groups across the region. Since October 2023 alone, Iranian-backed forces have launched more than 150 attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. In January 2024, a drone strike carried out by an Iran-backed militia killed three American service members in Jordan. 

Meanwhile, the Iran-aligned Houthi movement has fired missiles and drones at U.S. naval vessels and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, directly threatening American forces and destabilizing global trade.  Iran’s aggression is not limited to land. During the 1980s “Tanker War,” Iranian forces attacked commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf, and in recent years, Iran has seized international vessels, harassed U.S. Navy ships, and transferred advanced missile and drone technology to its proxies. The IRGC strategy is consistent: pressure, probe, and escalate just below the threshold of direct war.  

This is not episodic behavior. It is systemic.  

The regime’s brutality, however, is not reserved for foreign adversaries. Under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iran has ruled its own people through fear. Peaceful protesters have been beaten, imprisoned, and killed. Women are punished for defiance. Journalists are silenced. Religious minorities are persecuted. The same government that exports terror abroad denies its own citizens basic human freedoms at home.  

Against this backdrop, President Trump’s Operation Epic Fury did not arise from impulse. It was the culmination of a conflict Iran chose to wage. Diplomacy was attempted. Warnings were issued. Opportunities for de-escalation were presented and ignored. The objective of the operation was narrow and clear: halt nuclear advancement and protect American lives.  Similarly, our democratic partner, Israel, was compelled to pursue Operation Lion’s Roar in response to the same destabilizing threat posed by Iran. 

For decades, Iran has funded, armed, and directed violence against Israel while expanding its missile and drone capabilities across the region. Operation Lion’s Roar targeted Iranian military infrastructure and weapons systems that threaten Israeli civilians and broader regional security. Iran’s expanding missile programs and proxy networks do not threaten Israel alone; they undermine stability across the Middle East and endanger American personnel, allies, and interests as well. When diplomacy no longer restrains aggression, our nation faces a choice: tolerate continued attacks or act lawfully and proportionally to defend our people. 

Faced with persistent threats to U.S. personnel and regional stability, this Administration acted within its Article II constitutional authority.  History offers context. Limited, targeted strikes have been used by presidents of both parties to protect American personnel and interests. In Libya under President Obama, in Syria under President Biden, and now in response to Iran under President Trump, the doctrine has remained consistent: discrete uses of force, confined in scope and duration, do not constitute full-scale war. No prolonged campaign. No national mobilization.  

The War Powers Resolution requires notification and imposes time constraints; it does not prohibit limited defensive action. International law is equally clear. Article 51 of the U.N. Charter affirms a nation’s inherent right of self-defense. A response to ongoing aggression is lawful.  

For years, Iran has tested American restraint through proxy warfare, maritime aggression, hostage-taking, cyber operations, and repeated attacks on our troops. Consequences are not escalation for escalation’s sake. They are the restoration of deterrence.  Strength and restraint are not opposites. When applied deliberately and proportionally, they form the foundation of peace.