The Pentagon has delivered a stark warning to the Trump administration: Iran's nuclear weapon ambitions remain undeterred despite the devastating Operation Midnight Hammer airstrikes carried out more than six months ago, according to the newly released National Defense Strategy.
The bombshell assessment reveals that Iranian leaders are not only determined to rebuild their conventional military forces after taking a beating from U.S. forces, but they remain dangerously "open to the possibility" of obtaining nuclear weapons that could threaten American allies and interests across the Middle East.
This intelligence confirms what many America First patriots have long suspected – that half-measures and limited military strikes only embolden rogue regimes like Iran's Islamic Republic. The mullahs in Tehran clearly view the previous operation as nothing more than a minor setback in their march toward becoming a nuclear-armed terrorist state.
Trump Faces Critical Decision Point
President Trump now faces one of the most consequential national security decisions of his second term. With Iran openly signaling its nuclear intentions despite previous U.S. military action, the administration must decide whether to pursue more aggressive measures or risk allowing the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism to obtain weapons of mass destruction.
The Pentagon's candid assessment comes as Iran continues to funnel weapons and support to terrorist proxies across the region, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen. A nuclear-armed Iran would exponentially increase the threat to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and American forces stationed throughout the Middle East.
"The Iranian regime has made it crystal clear they have no intention of abandoning their nuclear ambitions," said a senior defense official familiar with the assessment. "Operation Midnight Hammer clearly wasn't enough to change their calculations."
This latest intelligence reinforces why President Trump was right to withdraw from Obama's disastrous Iran nuclear deal during his first term. The Islamic Republic has proven time and again that it cannot be trusted to honor international agreements or abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
The question now facing the Trump-Vance administration is simple: Will America allow Iran to become a nuclear power, or will decisive action be taken to permanently end this threat to regional stability and American security?