Free Republic

Iran “begged” for a ceasefire agreement, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced during a press conference Wednesday morning, claiming total victory for the United States and noting that President Donald Trump “forged this moment.”Speaking of the eleventh-hour ceasefire following Trump’s threat to end an entire civilization, Hegseth pointed to the broader picture, reminding Americans that Iran has a history of “targeting our people, killing Americans, [and] lying and blackmailing their way toward a nuclear weapon.”“So they thought. No longer. Not on our watch,” Hegseth said, explaining that other presidents have kicked the can down the road. However, he said, Trump...

The Pentagon has added Operation Epic Fury to its casualty database, as of April 3 showing 365 U.S. troops wounded in action and 13 killed.The update follows weeks of rising casualty reports tied to the operation. On Friday and into Saturday, a search remained ongoing for one of two F-15E crew members taken down in Iran. U.S. officials said March 1 that three service members had been killed and five seriously wounded. By March 2, the number of those killed had risen to six.Military.com sought clarification on how the Pentagon defines those killed in action, died of wounds, or non-hostile...

The community is encouraged to line the streets of Bardstown to help celebrate the life of “our local hero” Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt as she returns home to be laid to rest, according to the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office. Pruitt, 34, was one of six service members killed on March 12 when a KC-135 aircraft crashed in western Iraq during Operation Epic Fury. A dignified transfer will be held when Pruitt’s remains arrive at Samuels Field Airport in Bardstown at 11 a.m. Thursday before her body is escorted to Houghlin-Greenwell Funeral Home. “Ashley’s life was one of purpose, courage, and...

Operation Epic Fury marks a turning point in the art of war. The key to 20th-century battles was air power. In the past, space and cyber activities have traditionally played supporting roles as so-called force multipliers. But this is no longer the case. In this conflict they have become mainstream, carving out new fronts for the wars of the future. The use of space is no longer something that is just nice to have, because everything from comms to intel to navigation uses space and cyber assets. Along with the National Reconnaissance Office, which manages US spy satellites, the US...

#A10Warthog #MilitaryAnalysis #MilitaryTechnology The geopolitical tension in the Middle East has just reached a boiling point as Iran's asymmetric strategy to blockade the Strait of Hormuz spectacularly backfires. Attempting to trigger a global energy crisis, the IRGC deployed Maham-class sea mines, kamikaze drones, and fast-attack boat swarms to choke the world’s most vital oil transit route. But the United States and its allies were ready. In a devastating two-phased military campaign dubbed "Operation Epic Fury," the U.S. Navy and Air Force completely dismantled the Iranian blockade. The response was brutal: GBU-72 bunker-buster bombs obliterated underground missile silos, while legendary A-10...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke out on Operation Epic Fury twice on Thursday, first at President Donald Trump's Cabinet meeting and again before boarding a plane to head to Paris for the G7 Foreign Affairs Ministerial, where he'll meet with world leaders to talk about security concerns, specifically the situation in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine War. He's made one thing clear: Iran was not, is not, and will not be a United States-only problem. It's a world problem. And it's time for other countries to step up. In what many on social media are calling a "mic...

For decades, the Iranian regime has forged a powerful network of regional allies, known as the "Axis of Resistance" or "Axis of Steadfastness." The regime began building alliances and entities supporting its ideology immediately upon assuming power in 1979. The axis evolved into a diverse coalition of groups and armed forces, centrally featuring Hizbullah, Hamas, the Houthis, Iraqi militias and the former Syrian regime. However, the axis has suffered severe blows and largely disintegrated over the last two years. Operation Epic Fury, a major US-Israel offensive against Iranian regime targets on February 28, resulted in the death of Supreme Leader...

Throughout four weeks of war, Iran has continued to make the United States’ Gulf partners pay a price for Operation Epic Fury and Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion. The Iranians have fired thousands of missiles and dronesat their neighbors, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) bearing the brunt of the assault. There is also significant damage to energy infrastructure in Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. From the first days of the conflict, part of the Islamic Republic’s strategy was immediately clear: inflict significant pain on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia so that they would in turn pressure the United States...

Six American soldiers who lost their lives over western Iraq while supporting a mission are being remembered and honored by the U.S. Senate. The lawmakers passed a resolution recognizing their bravery, service, and ultimate sacrifice. The resolution, introduced by U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and co-sponsored by Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), passed unanimously. It honors Major Alex Klinner of Auburn, Alabama; Major Ariana G. Savino of Covington, Washington; Technical Sergeant Ashley B. Pruitt of Bardstown, Kentucky; Captain Seth R. Koval of Mooresville, Indiana; Captain...

Retired four-star Army Gen. Jack Keane assesses the ongoing Operation Epic Fury against Iran on 'Fox & Friends.' Gen Keane: This is a HUGE BACKFIRE... | 9:06 Fox News | 15.1M subscribers | 1,811,776 views | March 20, 2026

Two weeks into Operation Epic Fury, the dominant narrative has settled into a comfortable groove: The United States and Israel stumbled into a war without a plan. Iran is retaliating across the region. Oil prices are surging, and the world is facing another Middle Eastern quagmire. US senators have called it a blunder. Cable news has tallied the crises. Commentators have warned of a long war. The chorus is loud and, in some respects, understandable. War is ugly, and this one has imposed real costs on millions of people across the Middle East, including the city I live in. But...

President Donald Trump’s complaints about how the media has covered the war in Iran are “entirely justified,” according to an op-ed published by Mark Penn — a former pollster for President Bill Clinton — and former New York City Council president Andrew Stein in the Wall Street Journal. Penn and Stein argued the mainstream press appears hellbent on painting Operation Epic Fury negatively, no matter how the war is actually going. Their Monday article — titled “On Iran, Is Only Bad News Fit to Print?” — said coverage of the war has gone far beyond merely being critical and instead...

In another interesting development out of the ongoing Operation Epic Fury, or, as our Israeli allies call it, Operation Roaring Lion, the Israel Air Force (IAF) has destroyed an aircraft that was employed by the late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to coordinate with proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. While the late, unlamented Ayatollah is coordinating with nothing more than six feet of Iranian soil now, there was always the possibility that this aircraft could have been put to some nefarious purpose, like spiriting regime loyalists out of harm's way. No longer. Now the airplane has been reduced to...

Job 23:10-11 (King James Version) But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Listening to the Buggy Whip Press explaining the Iran attacks to the American people is like watching a monkey typing Shakespeare. Trump has such an amazing gift of exposing everyone for exactly who they are and what they are not. Nobody believes them or listens to them since they know the standard reporting will be Trump bad Iran good, so why listen...

The men in Zhongnanhai do not rattle easily. Decades of patient statecraft, a foreign policy built on studied ambiguity, and an economy engineered to absorb external shocks have granted Beijing’s leadership a remarkable tolerance for turbulence. Operation Epic Fury, the American-Israeli air campaign now dismantling Iran’s military architecture, has produced something unusual in the corridors of Chinese power: visible confusion. Xi Jinping is scrambling. The word is not used lightly. For a leader who has built his image on strategic composure and long-horizon thinking, the current moment is acutely dangerous. Not because China faces a direct military threat, but because...

Senate Republicans closed ranks Wednesday, handing President Donald Trump a win on his use of force in Iran, despite lingering questions about America’s involvement in the Middle East. The Senate shot down a resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., aimed at limiting Trump’s military actions in Iran on Wednesday, following days of speculation about whether Republicans would cross the aisle — as they have done before — to reprimand the president. The administration pushed hard to lobby support for Operation Epic Fury, holding several briefings with Congress to make its case. It appeared to work, at least for now, convincing...

Last week, FBI Director Kash Patel fired a dozen agents who worked on the case investigating Donald Trump for taking top-secret materials to his Mar-a-Lago residence after his first term was over. Those agents have now been revealed to be part of an elite group specializing in assessing threats from Iran, according to two reports. Multiple sources with knowledge of the personnel move told the New York Sun and confirmed to MS Now that the layoffs impacted the counterespionage group tasked with investigating threats from foreign adversaries out of Iran just days before the US bombed its leaders. Trump green-lit...

Love him or hate him, it should be inarguable that President Donald Trump is a quote machine. With the dust still settling from joint U.S.-Israeli Operation Epic Fury (which saw the successful neutralization of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his leadership cabal), Trump has provided yet another all-time quote — and it’s one his more murderous enemies should heed well.

Forty-seven years after the mullahs seized power, the countdown ended in fire, and Trump wagered that decisive force—not talk—would finally clear the path to Iran’s liberation.On January 25, just over a month ago, I wrote here that “The Countdown to Iran’s Liberation Has Begun.” Yes, there were peace talks. Donald Trump’s negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, jetted off to talk to Iran’s agents. Had Iran acceded to Trump’s key demands—above all, the abandonment of its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons—war might have been averted. As Churchill almost put it, it is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war. But the...

Peace Through Strength: President Trump Launches Operation Epic Fury to Crush Iranian Regime, End Nuclear Threat The White House March 1, 2026 In a bold and necessary exercise of American strength, President Donald J. Trump authorized Operation Epic Fury — a precise, overwhelming military campaign to eliminate the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime, destroy its ballistic missile arsenal, degrade its proxy terror networks, and cripple its naval forces. This operation, executed in partnership with regional allies, follows exhaustive diplomatic efforts and comes after 47 years of Iranian aggression — including attacks on U.S. citizens, sponsorship of global...