America's Iran dilemma: How to strike Fordow without losing sight of China threat

The simmering struggle betwixt Israel and Iran is much than a geopolitical flashpoint—it reflects a humanities rivalry stretching backmost astir 2,500 years. When the Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon successful 539 BCE, it issued a decree allowing Jewish captives to instrumentality and rebuild Jerusalem’s temple. Though that enactment was viewed arsenic benevolent, it besides placed Persia astatine the halfway of the region’s civilizational balance. Since then, Persia and Israel person often occupied opposing poles of powerfulness successful the Middle East.

Today, that agelong arc has reached a perilous apex. A nonstop Israel–Iran confrontation is underway, and President Trump, appears poised to perpetrate U.S. forces. Bomber task forces and bearer groups are moving into position, and speculation is mounting that America volition motorboat a onslaught against Fordow—Iran’s astir unafraid atomic facility. If specified a onslaught occurs, it indispensable beryllium precise and restrained. While Iran’s atomic menace indispensable beryllium blunted, America’s strategical absorption indispensable stay fixed connected its top rival: China.

WHY US MUST DESTROY IRAN'S FORDOW NUCLEAR FACILITY NOW

Ancient Identity, Modern Stakes

Iran’s self-perception is steeped successful its Persian heritage—a heavy taste individuality that sees itself not lone arsenic a federation but arsenic a civilizational anchor of the region. Though the Islamic Republic has distanced itself from pre-Islamic monarchy, it inactive invokes the bequest of Persian greatness. This fuels a profoundly rooted presumption that Iran—not the Arab satellite oregon the West—is the rightful powerfulness broker of the Middle East.

That mindset helps explicate Iran’s atomic ambition. The authorities believes determination enactment and deterrence request atomic capability. This presumption is not simply ideological—it is strategic, historical, and, successful Tehran’s eyes, just.

Fordow: The Nuclear Redoubt

The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is buried deep—some 80 meters nether Mount Alvand, adjacent Qom. It houses IR-6 centrifuges and is shielded against accepted strikes. While Israel has conducted attacks connected Natanz and Esfahan, Fordow remains intact—untouched successful portion due to the fact that lone the United States possesses the GBU-57A/B "Massive Ordnance Penetrator" susceptible of reaching it.

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If the U.S. acts, it indispensable beryllium to destruct Fordow and acceptable backmost Iran’s breakout timeline significantly. But it indispensable bash truthful with wide limits.

Iran Will Strike Back

No 1 should presume that Iran volition capitulate aft a azygous strike—even a palmy one. Ayatollah Khamenei has already warned, "The conflict has conscionable begun." Iran retains the means to retaliate: proxy militias, ballistic missiles, cyber warfare capabilities, and naval forces prepared to onslaught U.S. assets and disrupt lipid flows successful the Strait of Hormuz. The regime’s Revolutionary Guards and home quality apparatus are loyal and brutal—so hopes of a fashionable uprising successful the aftermath of a onslaught are, for now, unrealistic.

Thus, a subject cognition indispensable beryllium seen not arsenic a war-ending blow, but a time-buying maneuver.

Strategic Discipline: Follow Israel’s Lead

Israel’s superior extremity is not authorities change, but to deny Iran atomic weapons capability. Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter precocious stated, "The full operation… truly has to beryllium completed with the elimination of Fordow." That clear, constrictive ngo should besides beryllium the U.S. objective.

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America should enactment Israel with logistics, surveillance, munitions, and deterrence—but debar entangling itself successful a broader determination war. Any onslaught indispensable beryllium followed by verifiable proof—seismic signatures, ISR evidence, and ideally IAEA confirmation—that Fordow is inoperable. Without that, the ngo lacks strategical and governmental clarity.

China Remains the Pacing Threat

All the while, the United States indispensable retrieve this: Iran is simply a determination histrion with constricted planetary reach. China is simply a adjacent rival with planetary ambition. The U.S. National Defense Strategy has repeatedly identified China arsenic the pacing threat to U.S. planetary primacy—in technology, trade, cyber, and subject strength.

Xi Jinping is watching closely. A prolonged U.S. entanglement successful the Middle East is precisely the benignant of strategical distraction China hopes for. The Indo-Pacific remains the theatre wherever America’s aboriginal volition beryllium decided. Allowing a secondary struggle to drain U.S. bandwidth plays straight into Beijing’s hand.

The Real Mission: Contain, Don’t Convert

Regime alteration successful Iran is not achievable done airpower alone, and it is not indispensable to execute our strategical aims. Washington indispensable beryllium contented to degrade Iran’s atomic capacity, isolate the authorities diplomatically, and fortify its determination allies.

Deterrence indispensable beryllium reestablished done credible action—not open-ended intervention. Let the U.S. strike, erstwhile necessary, but not enactment longer than required. Let Fordow fall, but fto American strategy stay focused connected China.

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Consequences of Inaction

The alternative—doing nothing—has sedate implications. A atomic Iran would displacement the equilibrium of power, embolden its proxies, and trigger proliferation successful Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey. Tehran would clasp Tel Aviv hostage, endanger U.S. bases, and nullify American deterrence. Inaction sends a signal: U.S. reddish lines are negotiable. That would ripple acold beyond the Middle East.

Conclusion

Iran’s atomic ambition is rooted not conscionable successful subject calculus, but successful a civilizational memory—one that casts Iran arsenic the heir to past Persia’s determination dominance. Israel, calved from exile and forged successful conflict, sees its precise endurance astatine stake. The United States indispensable enactment its ally—but connected intelligibly defined terms.

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We tin and should destruct Fordow. We tin endure Iran’s response. But we indispensable not suffer show of the greater contest. America’s aboriginal volition not beryllium shaped by the mountains of Qom, but by the islands of the South China Sea.

Let past remember: we struck hard, struck smart, and remained focused. Fordow whitethorn fall—but our eyes indispensable enactment connected China.

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