As I write this, the United States of America, with the most powerful military in the history of the world, stands a very good chance of losing this current war with Iran, started in 2026. The US military has done far more damage to Iran’s government structure, military personnel and military equipment than Iran has done to the US’s.

Yet the level of damage done to the enemy military or country is not what determines who wins and who loses a war. It is the side that gives up its stated objectives and leaves the fight, in the face of determined opposition by the other side, that loses the war.

At the start of the war, Donald Trump stated that he wanted to 1) end the ballistic missile threat of Iran, 2) end Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and 3) end Iran’s support for proxies that threaten US interests and personnel. More recently, he has also stated 4) that the Strait of Hormuz needs to be reopened without any Iranian tolls or fees.

So, if the US ends the war and blockade without a substantial nuclear deal or the seizure of all of Iran’s enriched uranium, without securing Iranian compliance on ballistic missiles, while the Houthi proxies of Iran are threatening shipping in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and in the process, leaves Iran with the ability to control traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and charge tolls on ships, then this counts as a complete US capitulation and loss of the war.

Unfortunately, Trump’s handling of the Iran war has led to a heavy buildup of pressure on him to stop the war like this, without achieving any of his stated objectives, and while handing at least partial control of the Strait of Hormuz over to Iran. (This control violates all international norms of the seas and amount to a special privilege granted to the Islamic Republic of Iran that no other nation gets.)

This Iran war has led to major disruptions in the supply of oil and other goods from the Persian Gulf, generating serious shortages and price spikes. Also, as Donald Trump has justified and pursued it, this war is not very popular in America. A July 2026 poll by the University of Maryland found that 52% of Americans think that the US should end the Iran war now, and only 21% thought the US should use military force as necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. (The other 79% either favored diplomacy, or didn’t know what they thought.)

But, Donald Trump’s particular justifications and methods of fighting the Iran war aside, I think that a United States war against the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely justified. In fact, I would say that it is among the most justified military actions in the history of the United States: far more so than Vietnam, Korea, World War I, and Iraq, and perhaps even surpassing World War II and the War of 1812.

Why is such a war against Iran so justified? Because of Iran’s very long history of attacking the US by proxy, every chance it gets, and because of the nature of the Islamic Republic regime.

• To win a war means to make the other side capitulate and allow you to achieve your objectives without further forcible opposition.
• The US war in Iran is unpopular in America and there is mounting pressure on Donald Trump to stop.
• America is in danger of losing the Iran war of 2026, because, even though it has inflicted massively disproportionate damage to Iran’s government and military, it looks to be the side that will back down from the fight, without achieving its objectives.
• A war against Iran is fully justified by Iran’s long history of proxy and direct attacks on US facilities and personnel, resulting in hundreds of American deaths. The Islamic Republic is basically the leader of Islamist terrorism against America, Israel and the West in the world.
• So the war against Iran should be continued and won.
• [Summary still under construction…]