Two U.S. service members were killed during an Iranian missile attack on one of our military bases in Jordan last Friday night, July 17. Another was killed in Iraq while he was trying to detonate a downed Iranian drone. By 6 p.m. ET the following day, U.S. warplanes were in the air.
Two words from the Commander in Chief made that happen: "Rain hell."
President Trump directed CENTCOM to launch retaliatory strikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets following the deadly attack on U.S. forces stationed in Jordan. According to reports, Trump told his commanders the response should be "far more expansive than past ones." Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed the posture on X, writing of the fallen service members: "Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve."
This morning the Pentagon revealed that Private Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas, and First Leitentant Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii, died as a result of Friday’s missile attack on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base east of Amman, Jordan.
CENTCOM issued a statement confirming the strikes had begun: "Today at 6 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began launching new airstrikes against Iran at the Commander in Chief's direction. The strikes are designed to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night."
Note the word "punish." Not "respond proportionally." Not "signal displeasure." Punish.
We spent four years under the previous administration watching Iran-backed militias lob rockets at American positions across the Middle East. The Biden playbook was always the same: wait three days, convene a committee, strike an empty warehouse at 2 a.m. so nobody gets hurt, then leak to the Washington Post about how "measured" the response was. Iran got the message loud and clear — hit Americans, get a wrist-slap.
Trump's message is different. You kill Americans, ordnance follows. Not in a week. Not after a UN resolution. The same day.
President Trump said on Sunday of the deaths of the U.S. soldiers, “Well, we feel very badly, but you know those great people, those great patriots, were out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
17 U.S. service members have been killed since the launch of operation Epic Fury in February.
Iran's state-run media outlet admitted that U.S. air strikes this weekend killed at least one person near the city of Tabriz, which is where its believed that Tehran keeps an underground missile base.
The strikes by U.S. forces targeting the IRGC aren't about revenge — they're about making the next attack more expensive than Iran is willing to pay.
That used to be called foreign policy. Apparently we needed a refresher.