One: Forty-six days after Trump posted on Truth Social to the protesters, “help is on its way,” U.S. military airstrikes against Iran began. Much better late than never; let’s hope this ends with Ayatollah Khamenei joining Bashir Assad in exile in Moscow. For what it’s worth, there are reports that Khamenei is dead, killed as a result of an airstrike. The guy is or was 86, you figure being anywhere near an explosion has a decent shot of ending his life.

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Two: The Iranians were never serious about negotiating, which was abundantly clear throughout the process. I suppose there is value in sending Steve Witkoff to meet with Iranian officials repeatedly to buy time, and not appear to eager to begin a war, but in the end, this just gave the Iranian regime more time to hunt down and kill protesters and opponents of their rule.

Three: The Starlink terminals were a worthwhile side effort, but obviously not sufficient for U.S. objectives.

Four; It would be a good idea for the commander-in-chief to address the nation about the strikes against Iran in a format beyond a prerecorded eight-minute video posted to Truth Social. I notice that beyond his eight-minute video on Truth Social, President Trump’s only public comment on the Iran strikes has been in a brief phone interview with The Washington Post, conducted shortly after 4 a.m..

Five: I have seen a few on social media arguing whether Trump really meant regime change in his announcement of the military operation. But listen to, or read, what Trump said early Saturday morning:

To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces, and all of the police, I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity, or in the alternative, face certain death. So, lay down your arms, you will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death. Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.  For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let’s see how you respond.

To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces, and all of the police, I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity, or in the alternative, face certain death. So, lay down your arms, you will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death.

Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.  For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let’s see how you respond.

That seems awfully clear that the objective of this operation is the end of the mullahs’ rule in Iran; there is no offer on the table like the one that Delcy Rodriguez appears to have accepted in Venezuela. Any outcome that keeps the current rulers in power will represent a failure to achieve the stated objective.

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