Raizin Caine
General Dan “Raizin” Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed reporters at the Pentagon yesterday about U.S. operations in Iran. He told them that American forces struck “across every domain, land, air, sea, cyber . . . to disrupt, degrade, deny, and destroy Iran’s ability to conduct and sustain combat operations.”
Gen. Caine added that the U.S. military hit “more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours.” U.S. and Israeli strikes continued overnight. Israel alone hit an additional 600 targets.
Two Iranian drones struck the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, the building was empty at the time, and there were no casualties. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait was also attacked by Iranian drones.
While the United States and Israel are targeting Iran’s military assets and political leadership, Iran is targeting civilians. Iranian missiles and drones have hit airports, apartment buildings, and hotels. At least nine Israelis were killed when an Iranian missile slammed into a residential neighborhood in Beit Shemesh.
Iran claims it closed the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military disagrees. U.S. Central Command posted this response: “Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman; today they have ZERO.”
The financial markets seemed to shrug off the news out of the Middle East yesterday. But they plunged this morning as oil prices spiked.
The markets dramatically pared their losses after President Trump announced this afternoon that the United States would offer insurance to major shipping companies that do business in the Middle East. The president also said that, if necessary, the U.S. Navy will begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
Experts Wiped Out?
One of the targets struck by Israel last night was a “leadership complex” in the heart of Tehran that housed Iran’s presidential bureau and the headquarters of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Israel hit the complex with 250 bombs.
Today, Israel attacked the building in Qom where Iran’s Assembly of Experts was meeting. The assembly is made up of 88 Shiite clerics who, among other things, select the next “supreme leader.” Iranian media said the building was “flattened.” There are no reports yet on how many “experts” survived.
The Jerusalem Post describes today’s attack as a significant strike “aimed at the most sensitive institutional body of the Islamic Republic.” It also speaks volumes about Israeli intelligence and Israel’s determination to eliminate the Iranian regime.
Witkoff’s Warning
Democrats are accusing President Trump of launching a “war of choice.” But they seem to forget that he spent months trying to negotiate a peaceful resolution to Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Last year, the Trump administration went through five rounds of talks before Trump bombed Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities. This year, there were three rounds of talks. But the Iranians were never negotiating in good faith. They were stalling for time.
Here’s what Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff said about the negotiations:
“Three separate times, Jared and I opened up with the Iranian negotiators telling us they had the inalienable right to enrich all of the nuclear fuel they possessed. That’s how they opened up. . .
“In that first meeting, both the Iranian negotiators said to us directly, with no shame, that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60% [enriched uranium], and they’re aware that that could make 11 nuclear bombs. And that was the beginning of their negotiating stance. They were proud of it.
“They were proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs.”
For decades now, it has been the bipartisan policy of the United States to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. President Trump is actually doing it.
Poetry & Novels
Here’s how the Washington Post, in its obituary/tribute, described the Iranian dictator who ordered the murder of 30,000 of his own citizens just a few weeks ago:
“With his bushy white beard and easy smile, Ayatollah Khamenei cut a more avuncular figure in public than his perpetually scowling but much more revered mentor, and he was known to be fond of Persian poetry and classic Western novels, especially Victor Hugo’s ‘Les Miserables.’”
Something tells me that Bibi Netanyahu’s Washington Post obituary won’t be nearly so flattering.
Chances For Iranian Freedom
Everybody hopes that when this fighting is over, the Iranian people can reenter the civilized world and be free of their radical Shiite rulers. But of all the things the Trump administration hopes to accomplish, that will be the most difficult. And the reason is simple.
Iranians are not allowed to own guns. All the weapons in Iran are in the hands of the Iranian regime. We saw this, sadly, just a few weeks ago when thousands of protesters were gunned down in the streets. No one knows for sure exactly how many Iranians were murdered.
But there is one glimmer of hope. The two entities in Iran that have guns are obviously the Iranian military and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
When I listened to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as some of the things the president said yesterday, I felt like they might be speaking to the Iranian military, essentially saying, “Neutralize the IRGC, protect the Iranian people from them, and we will do business with you about the future of Iran.”
That is most likely the only hope for the Iranian people—a split between the Iranian military and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Polls & Primaries
The latest Harvard Harris poll has some good news for Republicans. The generic congressional ballot question for control of Congress is tied at 50% for Democrats and 50% for Republicans. After being presented with a series of potential campaign messages, likely voters went 51% to 49% for Republicans.
The previous Harvard Harris poll had Democrats up 8 points—54% to 46%.
It’s worth noting that this poll was conducted after the State of the Union address but before the conflict with Iran. I have to think that some of the Democrats’ erosion was a result of the public seeing their crazy behavior during Trump’s State of the Union address.
In addition, 18 major Trump administration policies enjoy overwhelming public support, polling between 56% and 80%. Voters also strongly support the 11 major proposals Trump announced in his State of the Union address. Those proposals polled from 54% to 72%. And when asked who they trusted more to manage the economy, voters picked Trump and congressional Republicans over Democrats 53% to 47%.
All eyes are on the Texas Senate primaries today. On the Democrat side, there’s crazy and crazier. I’m rooting for crazier because she will be easier to beat.
On the GOP side, John Cornyn, the incumbent senator, is facing two conservative challengers. While Cornyn has been with President Trump on everything that matters, his approach to politics is the old guard, establishment gentleman’s game.
It’s not clear who will come out on top, and it doesn’t look like anyone will get a majority. But let’s assume Cornyn makes it to the runoff.
Some people believe that if Cornyn loses the nomination, either of the conservatives will lose in November. Others I respect in Texas say that if Cornyn wins, many populists will take a pass on the race, and he could lose in November. My reaction to both is: Really?!
Either way, the alternative is one of two radical Democrats. One says Trump is a “wannabe Hitler,” and the other says God is “nonbinary” and just fine with abortion.
A Big Win
The Supreme Court today issued a major decision and a big win for parental rights!
It came in a case challenging the enforcement of California’s law that requires teachers to lie to parents if their child is “socially transitioning,” using a different name, and opposite-sex pronouns at school.
Parents and teachers filed suit against the law. A judge issued an injunction preventing California from enforcing the law until a decision on the legal merits of the case was made. But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the injunction and allowed the law to take effect.
Today, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority reinstated the injunction blocking the law and declared that the parents were likely to succeed on the merits as well.
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 against Maryland forcing LGBTQ books into elementary school lessons without a parental opt-out provision. The majority declared today that California’s intrusion on parental rights—the “unconsented facilitation of a child’s gender transition”—is even more egregious than what Maryland did.
American Values and the James Dobson Family Institute signed an amicus brief strongly defending parental rights in this case. Your support for our work is making a difference!