Vaporizing 62-year-old Iranian Al Quds chief Qassem Soleimani, 62-year-old Kataib Hezbollah chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and three others Dec. 28 at the Baghdad airport with predator drone strike, 73-year-old President Donald Trump got his message across to 80-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei, his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and 62-year-old newly minted Al Quds chief Esmail Ghaani all promised revenge but nuanced their remarks when Trump promised a forceful response. When Ayatollah’s key bodyguard Soleimani was liquidated by Trump, Khamenei knew he’s on thin ice, one bad decision away from regime change. Above all else, the 41-year-old mullah regime is about survival, having weathered recent calls by Iranian street demonstrations for him to step down. When 12 missiles flew harmlessly at two Iraqi military bases, Trump knew he won.
Launching a throwaway missile attack that didn’t come close to its targets, Khamenei responded for domestic face-saving, having just wept at Soleimani’s funeral Jan. 6. “Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense,” said Zarif, signaling that no retaliatory attacks would follow—at least for now. Zarif’s was among the most belligerent Iranian officials promises punishing retaliation. Khamenei knew that if he killed-or-maimed any Americans or damaged-or-destroyed any significant U.S. property, Trump would respond harshly. Democrats and their media friends claimed Trump was getting the U.S. into the next Mideast war or possibly WW III. When Trump stepped to the podium today saying, “All is well!” telling the American public that they should be “grateful” that the situation was resolved without bloodshed. Democrats continued to insist Trump hurt U.S. national security.
Khamenei called the missile strikes “a slap in the face” to America, promising to rid the U.S. of its military involvement in the Middle East. Since Iran knows that won’t happen, Trump said that Iran was “standing down,” essentially ending more retaliatory strikes against the U.S. If a precision drone strike can take out Soleimani, it could take out anyone in the Iranian regime, including Khamenei. Iran’s battered economy, with its Rial currency at record lows, cannot take any conflict with the U.S. Khamenei knows that Trump could order the Pentagon to destroy Iran’s oil-refineries, something that would decimate Iran’s economy. Shooting off missiles was Iran’s best way of ending the escalation to potentially more serious damage. Anti-Trump U.S. press reports screamed about an “erratic” president, leading the nation into a new Mideast war, something that didn’t happen.
Getting Soleimani Jan. 2 Trump got the Ayatollah’s attention after canceling the Iranian Nuke Deal May 8, 2018. Trump cancelled out of former President Barack Obama’s 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] because it gave Iran the cash to run its proxy wars in the Middle East and North Africa. When you consider Iran Limpet-mined oil tankers in the Gulf and bombed a Saudi oil refinery last year, it was time for Trump to put his foot down. Attacking the U.S. embassy in Baghdad Dec. 28, 2019 was the last straw, prompting Trump to give the go-ahead to take out Soleimani and al-Munhandis. Instead of admitting Trump handled the Iran situation well, Democrats and their media friends blamed him for incompetence. Now that the situation’s resolved with minimal consequences, Democrats and the media once again look like they can’t stop their Election Year politics.
Screaming about a new Mideast War or even WW III, Democrats and the media are fully exposed to prospective voters that they’re not concerned about U.S. national security, only about the 2020 election. Former President Joe Biden was hurt by Trump resolving the Iran crisis quickly, getting his share of the blame for handing Iran billions of dollars to engage in reckless Mideast adventurism. Democrats criticized the president for not following up with his threat to respond to Iran’s throwaway missile attack. Instead of escalating the crisis, Trump ended it quickly. “Iran appears to be standing down,” Trump told a press conference today, setting down concerns about a wider conflict. Unlike former President George W. Bush or Obmaa, Trump understands he can accomplish military missions without putting U.S. boots-on-the-ground, a real savings of U.S. blood-and-treasure.
Wall Street rocketed up today realizing that the media hype about an escalating Mideast crisis had fizzled out. Democrats and the press can’t admit that Trump did a brilliant job of handling U.S. national security, forcing Iran to back down from its ongoing threats against the U.S. Anti-Trump media questioned Trump’s decision to not respond to Iran’s throwaway missile attack. Trump said yesterday any Iranian response would be met “quickly & fully,” saying, “perhaps in disproportionate manner,” something that intimidated Tehran. Khamenei knows he doesn’t have many options, knowing that his mullah regime hangs by a thread. Escalating the situation with the U.S. could result in regime change, especially if Trump hits Iran’s oil infrastructure. Khamenei knows that he’s dealing with Trump, a president not hesitant to use the Pentagon’s superior military power.
