We Have No Other Choice

Every single Israeli I have met while here has been supportive of the war with the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as with the war against Hezbollah. There is a robust disagreement on the political situation, on judicial reform, even on which streets in Jerusalem are to be closed to traffic while their “light rail” is (eternally) under new construction. However, about the main existential issues, issues of life and death, of the Iranian continuous construction of underground centrifuges, missile boosters and nuclear bombs, of Hezbollah’s attacks on the northern communities, there is near-unanimous agreement.

The Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khameini, (whether fully capable of functioning or not), has stated on Saturday that “a new chapter for the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is taking shape amidst this ongoing war with the United States and Israel”, and “the only place the Americans belong is at the bottom of the water.” He also added that “the Gulf region will have a bright future without the presence of the United States.” Again, he added that “We will secure the Gulf region and eliminate the enemy’s abusers off the waterway.” Foreigners who come from thousands of miles away that act with greed and malice have no future here, accept at the bottom of the water.”

Ali Abdollahi, a senior Iranian military official warned on Monday that “all commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any attempt to transit without coordination with the armed forces,” as reported by Iranian state media.

He added: “⁠We warn that any foreign armed force — especially the aggressive U.S. military — if they intend to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz, will be targeted and attacked.”

How does this chapter finish up? Who will blink first?

According to Ambassador John Bolton, who had been National Security Advisor to President Trump in his first term, and Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, “I think the United States has a great advantage here, but it hasn’t finished the job that was started. I think finishing the job means outing the regime in Tehran. But there are steps less than that that Trump can take. If he were to use military force to open the Straits of Hormuz,  which does not involve going back to the attacks we saw three or four weeks ago, but keep the blockade on Iranian oil shipments, that would continue to put a huge financial squeeze on Iran, but would get a lot of much needed oil out of the Gulf and onto international markets.”

On Friday, May 1^st, President Trump sent a letter to congressional Leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican Speaker Pro Tempore of the Senate, Charles Grassley, marking 60 days since the United States and Israel first attacked Iran.

This was in response to the War Powers Act, which had been passed on November 7, 1973. That had been designed to limit President Nixon’s ability to commit more troops to Vietnam. Yet, since then, although the opposing party would like to enforce it, the War Powers Act has never been implemented.

The last time any President sought to address Congress about these issues was in 1941, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  (Of course, the US has been engaged in multiple overseas ventures ever since.)

Iran submitted a 14 point plan in response, which included “Ending the war within 30 days; American guarantees against further aggression; the withdrawal of all US forces from Iran’s periphery; an end to the US naval blockade; the release of frozen Iranian assets; payment of reparations; the lifting of sanctions; an end to the hostilities in Lebanon; and an Iranian  mechanism for controlling the Strait of Hormuz.”

President Trump’s response to this was made clear on his Truth Social feed, writing: “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity and the World over the last 47 years.”

Unfortunately, since its founding in 1982, Hezbollah has terrorized the northern communities of Kiryat Shmona, Metula and Ma’alot. In the north of Israel, the smell and the sounds of gunfire are constantly in the air. Since October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah decided to link hands with Hamas and their atrocities, 60,000 residents have had to be evacuated. No one wants to attack the good people of Lebanon, but Hezbollah, which is the major terrorist proxy of Iran, has been metastasizing like a virulent cancer. People here have between 15 seconds and one minute to run into a shelter when the siren sounds. Many people in northern Israel have exhibited signs of current traumatic emotional distress, particularly the children.

Here in Israel, people are incredibly resilient. We know that we might have to, once again, have a minute (or less) to run into our sealed rooms and shelters. However, we have no other choice. If this will help to erode the iron clad grip of the Islamic Republic of Iran, we are all in complete agreement that it is well worth it.

Sarah Stern is Founder and President of EMET, an unabashedly pro-Israel and anti-Jihadist think tank and policy institute in Washington, DC.