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Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/04/10/israel-iran-united-states-war/
The "Now or Never" Rationale for the Iran War
(Washington Post) Jason Willick - Iran regards Israel and the U.S. as mortal enemies, and, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, its rapid accumulation of ballistic missiles and drones would have afforded it "immunity" from attack in "about a year or a year and a half." The trend lines on ballistic missiles help explain why President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu chose to strike now. Iran would also have acquired a degree of immunity from attack if the U.S. elected a president more inclined to restrain Israel. Virtually all Democratic contenders, and many Republican contenders, likely fit that bill. The "now or never" rationale for this war, in other words, was probably political as well as military. Trump and Netanyahu saw an opening to do something that might be foreclosed in the future both by Iran's missile development and the political trajectory in the U.S. They took it.