Beginning with Bill Clinton’s statement in May 1995, every American president has pledged to the nation and the world that Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Those were nothing but words and the Iranians ignored them. They, of course, continued their nuclear weapons development program at all the speed they could muster. That era ended when, on June 22, 2025, President Trump launched “Operation Midnight Hammer.” He has said that regime change in Iran is not his objective. His thinking should change and very quickly. The flying time from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Iran’s nuclear sites is over 18 hours more than enough to dull anyone’s senses. The B-2s were heavily-loaded, each with two of the MOPs: a 30,000-pound ground penetrating bomb. The seven B-2 bombers then had to fly in enemy air space for about 40 minutes and then deliver their bomb loads in about two minutes: 120 seconds. Thanks to the overwhelming professionalism and competence of our air crews, they were able to do that with ultimate precision. At the same time, about 30 dozen U.S. cruise missiles were fired at the other targets in Iran. More U.S. aircraft supported the B-2 strikes in the precision strike. Iran fired several missiles at our Qatar air base, Al-Udeid, in response. Iran reportedly gave Qatar advance warning of the attack. Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said later that some 40 of our young folks manning Patriot missiles shot down all the incoming missiles. It was the biggest engagement of U.S. Patriot missile batteries on record. Our bombs hit the three principal Iranian nuclear development sites, Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz. It’s possible that the bomber crews managed to “double tap” the Iranian facilities, dropping a second bomb into the crater created by the first. President Trump says those sites were obliterated, which is probably close to the truth. Iran’s “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Khamenei, says they were hardly scratched, which is a blatant lie. It’s noteworthy that Khamenei’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, admitted in an interview on state TV that the U.S. strikes caused serious damage. We know we can’t believe anything that comes out of the Iranian government whether it agrees with what we want to believe or not. More sources are coming out to say that the damage created by the B-2 bombs was very serious. Iran is down, but not out. That can come only with the fall of the ayatollahs’ regime. Saudi Arabia said it was following the attack with grave concern. Other Middle Eastern nations said much the same. European reactions, as expected, saw the strikes as expanding the conflict. UK Prime Minister Sir Keith Starmer said that Iran “can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,” adding that the U.S. action can be seen as an effort to “alleviate that threat.” Starmer urged a return to diplomacy. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Iran to “immediately begin negotiations” with Israel and the United States. Right. As if negotiations could possibly be effective to deny Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Last week Trump announced a cease-fire in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. He also denied that any deal with Iran would include incentives in the amount of billions of dollars to relieve the stress on Iran’s economy. No new negotiations can proceed on that basis. Our media’s typical reaction to the U.S. strikes are consonant with that of CNN. As one wag put it, CNN first denied that Iran was working on nuclear weapons and then, after the strikes, said that Iran could produce a nuclear weapon within days. There are two opportunities here for President Trump. The first is an expansion of his “Abraham Accords” and the second is an order to the CIA to topple the ayatollahs’ regime. The Abraham Accords, by which several Arab nations recognized Israel and made peace with it, are clearly the greatest diplomatic accomplishment of Trump’s first term. After the B-2 strikes on Iran there can be no question of America’s dedication to the defense of Israel. Saudi Arabia, which fears Iran more than most nations, has been playing a very cagey game and it will probably continue to do so. It will probably put off any Abraham Accords agreement, as will several other Arab nations following the Saudi example. If more can be persuaded to join the Accords, cementing those deals would help stabilize the Middle East for many years. This column has repeatedly urged the president to issue a secret Presidential Directive to the CIA to help topple the Iranian regime. Tens of thousands of Iranians have demonstrated against their government. If — and this is a huge “if” — a credible group can be established, and if its leadership can be shown to be worthwhile, it is time to fund, arm, and share intelligence with the Iranians with the aim of removing the Iranian regime. That will be a hard task and the CIA may not be up to it. But we have to try because there is no other solution to the Iranian problem. Trump wants to be a peacemaker. He has the opportunity to pursue peace through an expansion of the Abraham Accords and regime change in Iran. He has said that regime change in Iran is not his objective. His thinking should change and very quickly. READ MORE from Jed Babbin: MOPping Up Iran Iran Miscalculated. The Ayatollahs Must be Removed. The post %POSTLINK% appeared first on %BLOGLINK%.