9 March, 2026, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate Chuck Schumer presented his position on the war with Iran, “One word to sum up Trump’s press conference: clueless. He can’t articulate a plan or a vision because he has no plan or vision. He can’t even decide whether or not the country is at war.” And the Democrat leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jefferies calls the attack on Iran, “a reckless war of choice.” Obviously, both are playing politics over a very serious issue. Did either of them look at the facts associated with the issue? I doubt it.
FACTS:
- There has not been peace in the Middle East since Israel was established as a nation in its current location in 1948.
2. Months after the close of the Iranian Revolution, Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and took 66 American hostages holding most for 444 days. Since that day Iran leaders have preached almost weekly that their destiny is, “The elimination of Israel and the destruction of the United States.”
3. Terrorism is a scourge on the world, responsible for continuous suffering and death to millions. Since 1984 Iran has been labeled, “The worlds’ leading sponsor of terrorism” by providing funding, training, weapons and safe havens for militant actors such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza. It is estimated the Iran has spent over $16 billion since 2012 building the terror network among more than a dozen terrorists’ organizations.
4. Iran is the primary supplier of munitions to terrorist organizations. For example, Hizballah’s ammunition stockpile is estimated to include between 120,000 and 200,000 missiles and rockets. Since the Hamas attack on Israel October 7, 2023 over 28,000 missiles and rockets have been fired into Israel, primarily by Hamas and Hezbollah.
5. The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, 2026. In response, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz immediately impacting approximately a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
6. Iran citizens are suffering. About two million Iranian workers have lost their jobs in 2026. Food inflation has surged to over 100%. Their currency, the rial, trades at about 1.32 million per dollar. Internet blackouts are costing the digital economy and estimated 35-37 million dollars per day.
7.Iranians live in fear. Demonstrations against the government began in December 2025 and extended on into January 2026. On 25 January Time reported that a specific list included 30,304 protest-related deaths registered in civilian hospitals for 8 and 9 January alone. The same day, Iran International estimated the total number of deaths at 36,500. In a very rare admission, Ayatollah Khamenei acknowledged that “several thousand Iranians have been killed since protests started in late December.”
8. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent international tribunal based in The Hague, Netherlands, established to prosecute individuals for serious international crimes like genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. They should have been knocking on Ayatollah Khamenei’s door before the end of January. I can find no indexation that they have done anything. Where is the pressure from the civilized Western World countries?
9. The IRGC. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a powerful military and political organization in Iran, established after the 1979 revolution to protect the Islamic Republic and its leadership. It operates independently of Iran’s regular military, with branches including ground forces, a navy, an aerospace force, the Quds Force for foreign operations, and the Basij militia for internal security. The IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States and the European Union. IRGC members are on assignment throughout the country to provide immediate action to any and all resistance against the central government.
10. New friends. Over the past few years Iran has deepened it relations with Russia and China with 25-year cooperation agreements. In January, 2026 Iran, China and Russia signed a comprehensive strategic pact marking one of the most consequential shifts in 21st-century international relations which combines the three nations into a coordinated framework.
11. U.S. relations with Iran. Given the above FACTS about Iran, why would the Obama administration arrange transfers totaling about $1.7 billion dollars. And why did the Biden Administration approve moves that allowed Iran access to $16 billion dollars in frozen assets. Are those funds now financial support for terrorist organizations? Additionally, Biden eased the sanctions on Iran’s oil exports; increasing them to 1.7 million barrels per day. By contrast they exported an average of 0.775 million barrels per day while facing the “maximum pressure” campaign waged by the Trump administration 2017 – 2021. The difference netted Iran an additional income of $26-29 billion dollars. How much of that went to financing, training and arming terrorist organizations?
12. Iran’s recent interaction with its Middle East neighbors: Since 28 February, Iran has launched missiles and drones into Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saude Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. While attacks targeted U.S. military facilities they also included residential areas, economic facilities, international airports, hotels and energy installations.
13. Iranians take to the streets during nationwide rallies every year on 4 November, marking the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. embassy by waving flags and chanting “death to America“
14. NUCLEAR WEAPONS: “Iran must never have a nuclear weapon” is the core issue of the war with Iran. Enriched uranium is the key to creating a nuclear weapon. As of early 2026, Iran had produced approximately 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, which is close to weapons-grade levels. Experts predict that Iran could conclude production of a nuclear weapon, “at least in weeks if not in a few days.”
ASSUMPTIONS:
With the 90 million suffering Iranians and the power-hungry revolutionists leading the government, the world will never be free of terrorists.
The United States is very vulnerable to terrorist attacks right now. Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center testified on December 11, 2025 that the leading terrorist threat to the United States comes from approximately 18,000 known or suspected terrorists who entered the country during the Biden administration.
CONCLUSIONS
There is nothing in the above layout of facts that provides any confidence that Iran can be a part of peace in the Middle East under current conditions.
Conversely, every fact points toward long range chaos, conflict and terrorism led by Iran.
The Trump administration has done a very poor job of explaining the complete “why” it is absolutely necessary that we take down Iran at this time.
Prior to President Trump our leaders have avoided, or in the case of Obama and Biden, supported Iran’s disruption.
BOTTOM LINE:
What part of the Ayatollahs’ 40-year mission statement, “destruction of Israel and death to America” do we not believe? Obviously, they could not land on our east coast and take down Washington to accomplish their mission. But, could they at least partially accomplish their mission with a nuclear weapon? So, why have we stood by for years and watched them defy the United Nations and continue to produce a nuclear weapon?
Now that Iran is within a short period of actually having a nuclear weapon, do we, as a nation, just sit by and wait for Iran to be ready, willing and able to attack? That obviously has been our leaders’ position over the past couple decades until finally President Trump concluded that we needed to get proactive and do something about it, now. No other country is willing or able to take this on.
A large portion of Americans do not support the war. That is understandable given the lukewarm to down-right negative response by our Democrat leadership. Why does everything the Trump administration attempts to do get castigated by the Democrat leadership? Unfortunately, the answer has to do with blind hatred; they refuse to think beyond their personal hatred and see what is actually best for America as a whole.
Thank you President Trump for demonstrating the courage of your convictions to protect the American people.
WHAT’S NEXT MR. PRESIDENT? How about putting together a coalition of nations from around the world to, once and for all, take on the terrorist organizations and destroy them completely and forever. It’s all about advocating for world peace.
If you are interested in World Peace on a much broader scale, read an entire concept of operation by opening the website, Wethepeoplespeaking.com. On the left see the list of Recent Blogs. Click on the second one, World Peace
Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of VISION TO EXECUTION, a book for leaders, and FIX THE SYSTEMS, TRANSFORM AMERICA, as well as the author of a blog WeThePeopleSpeaking.com.