So, how many times are America's enemies going to play the FAFO game with President Donald Trump before finally coming to the conclusion that this president not only means what he says; he also has a strong tendency to follow through on his threats? (See: Iranian nuclear sites, ICE raids, and mass deportation of illegal aliens.)
While the answer to the above question is unknowable, we do have a story that suggests neither dictator Vladimir Putin's Russia nor the Islamic Republic of Iran got the memo.
As reported by Iranian state media outlet Mehr News, Iran and Russia conducted three days of joint war drills in the Caspian Sea this week "in order to send a message to the United States" in the wake of devastating U.S. Tehran's top three nuclear sites.
Something tells me that whatever message the Iranians and Russians intended to send to Team Trump was either ignored by the president or brushed off as theater or hollow saber-rattling.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported the following on July 21 (emphasis, mine):
Hosted by the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the exercise includes representatives from the naval forces of the Caspian littoral countries, and aims to enhance field coordination, operational interactions, and multilateral cooperation in maritime search and rescue.
The 'Caspian Sea Search and Rescue 2025' combined exercise is considered a step towards strengthening peace, security, and practical cooperation among the countries of the region in the maritime domain.
Not to nitpick, but I'm pretty sure "peace, security, and practical cooperation" wouldn't be an issue for Russia and Iran if they stopped bombing other countries and/or conducting horrific attacks against citizens of their "enemies." The same logic applies to Mideast terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and related antisemitic and West-hating groups.
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Mehr News further reported that "Iran has sought to bolster its military capabilities following the U.S.-Israeli 12-day aggression," and that Tehran has "sought backing from Russia and China to counter U.S. military and economic pressure."
Uh-huh.
As we saw after the U.S. bombed the Iranian nuclear facilities to smithereens, while Russian and Chinese state media puffed out their totalitarian chests as they condemned the attack, that was the sum total of their "backing" of the mad mullahs in Tehran.
In further chest-puffing, Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on his Telegram channel that a meeting he held with Russia's Andrey Belousov focused on "enhancing bilateral cooperation in the military and defense fields."
Again, uh-huh.
The military exercises were no doubt largely conducted for public consumption in both Iran and Russia, rather than as a proverbial warning shot to the U.S., based on a high probability that the last thing either country wants is a shooting war with America — which can also be said about the ChiComs in Beijing.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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