Ruddy: Trump Won the War and Soon the Peace

In just over a week, something remarkable has happened in the Middle East.

The war with Iran — feared by many for decades — has largely been decided.

President Donald Trump, working closely with America's ally Israel, has already achieved what many believed would require months of combat or might never happen at all.

Indeed the world has witnessed the near-total destruction of Iran's military infrastructure and the dismantling of its nuclear ambitions.

That is why I believe history will record this moment clearly: Trump has "won" the war. Now he will soon win the peace.

Over the past week, coordinated American and Israeli strikes have crippled Iran’s military capacity.

Iran's naval power, missile systems, communications networks, and much of its air-defense capability have been devastated.

Even critics acknowledge that the scale of the damage is enormous.

President Trump himself has said the campaign is already "very complete" and ahead of schedule.

But the true significance of this moment goes far beyond the battlefield.

For years, the world watched as Iran crept closer to becoming a nuclear weapons state.

According to international inspectors at the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran had reached a terrifying threshold: it was believed to be only just weeks away from possessing enough nuclear material to produce a bomb.

Think about that.

A regime that has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel and America and labeled us as "the Great Satan" was on the verge of crossing the nuclear finish line.

And despite repeated pleas by the U.S. and others that they simply renounce their nuclear intentions and halt their ballistic missile program — or face an incredibly destructive attack — Iran still refused to compromise.

That decision revealed everything.

It revealed how dangerous this regime was — a clear indication, in my mind, that if they acquired the bomb they would use it.

Imagine, Iran’s leaders were prepared to risk the destruction of their own military infrastructure if it meant keeping alive the dream of a nuclear weapon.

Frankly, they have never hidden their intentions.

The bomb, in their own rhetoric, was meant to eliminate Israel and challenge the United States and the West.

In truth, Iran has already been at war with America and our allies for almost 50 years.

The regime has waged that war through proxies — arming and directing groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.

These organizations have terrorized civilians, destabilized governments, and attacked American interests across the Middle East.

President Trump's decision to act decisively has now broken that strategic arc.

In an exclusive interview with Newsmax's Greta Van Susteren over the weekend, Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar praised Trump's leadership and offered a sobering historical comparison.

In the 1990s, he noted, the United States had an opportunity to eliminate the nuclear weapons program of North Korea.

Had President Bill Clinton acted decisively then, the world might not face the nightmare of a nuclear-armed North Korea today.

That lesson is clear: sometimes the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of action.

Trump chose action.

By dismantling Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and crippling its military capabilities, he has lifted a nuclear cloud that hung over not only Israel but also for America's partners in the Gulf.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain now face a dramatically different strategic landscape.

Yet wars are not won by destruction alone.

The next phase of this conflict will be what I call the "housekeeping phase."

Instead of large-scale military operations, the mission will focus on enforcement and stability – similar to how the U.S. dealt with Iraq during the 1990s.

The United States and Israel will need to police Iran’s behavior — ensuring that its nuclear program does not revive and that its missile development does not return.

At the same time, opposition forces inside Iran should begin to emerge.

I believe regime change will ultimately come, but it is unlikely to arrive overnight.

There is little U.S. or Western public support for a ground invasion into Iran that might accomplish this. Still, it will be better if the change is more organic and internally accomplished.

Unlike some historical revolutions, there is no organized alternative government or opposition in Iran waiting in the wings.

Nor are there many figures inside the current regime who would be willing to cooperate with the West in a transition, as happened recently in Venezuela.

Time, however, is not entirely on our side if the war continues much longer.

Every day that passes allows narratives to shift.

We saw this dynamic after the October attacks by Hamas against Israel.

The terrorists massacred over 1400 Israeli civilians in a brutal rampage.

Yet within a matter of months, Israel was portrayed as the aggressor, the Gazans as victims.

You can already see something similar happening now.

Around the world — and in many media outlets — sympathy for Iran is beginning to grow.

France's Macron almost immediately seemed to side with Iran (meanwhile, our British friends have stood strongly with us, albeit with a slight delay due to late notification of an impending attack).

The longer the aftermath drags on, the easier it becomes for the original cause of the conflict to be forgotten.

That is why the next priority must be strategic clarity.

One of the most urgent issues is securing the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly 20% of the world's oil supply travels.

If that corridor remains unstable or closed, the global economy will feel the shock.

Former NATO Supreme Commander Wesley Clark tells me this is now the number one priority.

And it may mean U.S. troops will have to seize key islands that help control the waterway.

Ensuring Hormuz's security will require continued international cooperation and American leadership.

But when the history of this moment is written, one fact will stand above the rest.

For decades previous presidents had kicked the Iran can down the road, so to speak.

But, in a matter of days President Trump confronted one of the most dangerous nuclear threats in the world and removed it.

That was not hesitation.

That was not incremental diplomacy.

It was a decisive act of leadership.

And it should go down as one of the most consequential — and courageous — foreign policy decisions of our time.

Christopher Ruddy is CEO of Newsmax Inc., one of the nation's leading news channels and outlets. Read more Christopher Ruddy Insider articles — Click Here Now.