What Is So Bad About a Nuclear Iran?

American officials “have been told Israel is fully ready to launch an operation against Iran,” CBS News correspondent Ed O’Keefe reported Thursday. O’Keefe was hardly alone in that assessment. “Israel appears to be preparing to launch an attack soon on Iran,” the New York Times revealed. “We are watching and worried,” one diplomatic source in the region told the Washington Post’s reporters. “We think it’s more serious than any other time in the past.”

U.S. officials are battening down the hatches. On Wednesday, the Pentagon authorized the evacuation of service members’ families from areas in the Middle East within striking distance of Iran. Personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad have also been hastily withdrawn. Separately, the British navy warned vessels to avoid the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz because of “increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity.”

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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American officials “have been told Israel is fully ready to launch an operation against Iran,” CBS News correspondent Ed O’Keefe reported Thursday. O’Keefe was hardly alone in that assessment. “Israel appears to be preparing to launch an attack soon on Iran,” the New York Times revealed. “We are watching and worried,” one diplomatic source in the region told the Washington Post’s reporters. “We think it’s more serious than any other time in the past.”

U.S. officials are battening down the hatches. On Wednesday, the Pentagon authorized the evacuation of service members’ families from areas in the Middle East within striking distance of Iran. Personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad have also been hastily withdrawn. Separately, the British navy warned vessels to avoid the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz because of “increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity.”

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.