On July 17, an Iranian missile strike killed three U.S. servicemembers at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, a stark reminder of the cost of President Donald Trump’s war of choice in the Middle East. Their deaths were avoidable, just as the strategy that put them in harm’s way was and remains reversible. Such forward deployments are always a “safe” option until missiles and drones rain down, highlighting the importance of withdrawing American troops from the region and ending this disastrous war.

The Islamic Republic’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles is not a bargaining chip. It is an ideological imperative. The theocratic system that has ruled Iran since 1979 treats the acquisition of these capabilities as a religious and revolutionary duty, not a negotiable national interest. U.S. sanctions, diplomacy, and limited strikes have repeatedly demonstrated the same pattern: temporary Iranian setbacks followed by reconstitution. As long as the regime’s core ideology and coercive apparatus remain intact, the nuclear and missile programs will continue. Regime change is therefore not optional theater. It is the only durable way to remove the ideological driver itself.