Legacy Media Disinformation on Operation Epic Fury in Iran

If you think that Operation Epic Fury in Iran, launched just over 2 weeks ago on February 28, is a major blunder, you can blame the legacy media in the U.S. and globally, for misinforming the public. Numerous regular updates from the U.S. and Israel illustrate the startling successes so far, but the press ignores them as they desperately search for and highlight astonishingly rare operational failures to supposedly support their many unfounded allegations, like:

• it's an ill-conceived, poorly planned ego trip by President Donald Trump to distract from domestic issues,
• it's designed to expand U.S. influence as Trump seeks to take over the world,
• it's a cynical attack to improve Trump's approval ratings and Republican hopes in the midterm elections

They avoid stating the obvious and what Trump and his staff have said in many press briefings and speeches; that Iran's continued development of ballistic missiles, nuclear weapons, funding and coordination of proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and terrorism around the world that has killed hundreds of Americans and thousands of others, in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and around the world is a real and deadly threat not just to Israel but to Americans.

It is abundantly clear that their maniacal pursuit of a global totalitarian, repressive Muslim regime, as stated in their constitution, and their open threats against the United States of America (the Great Satan) and Israel (the Little Satan) since 1979, have become imminently serious as their stockpile of highly enriched uranium grows and they continue to manufacture and improve long-range ballistic missiles and attack drones that will soon actualize their decades of threats to annihilate Israel and cripple and destroy the West. Having nuclear weapons aimed at Israel effectively negates any ability to prevent their expansionist agenda.

The legacy media in the U.S. and globally has been mostly misinforming the public about Operation Epic Fury in Iran, leading to polls showing that 64% of Americans say Donald Trump has not clearly explained the objectives of the military campaign against the Iranian regime. That poll on March 9 was more than a week after the initial attack was launched on February 28, and after President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (March 4), and others had laid out the simple and clear objectives in press briefings.

• Destroy Iran's ballistic missiles and their missile industry.
• Destroy Iran's navy.
• Destroy Iran's support of its proxies waging war in other countries.
• Destroy Iran's nuclear weapons development and ensure it can never build a nuclear weapon.

From the beginning, Trump has made it clear that it may take several weeks to accomplish these goals, but just two weeks into the operation the Trump-hating press (virtually all of the press) bemoans a "never-ending war" and another "quagmire" despite the obvious fact that Trump and the U.S. military have already demonstrated rapid, decisive success in Venezuela, in a previous attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, and daily successes in Iran over the last couple of weeks.

On March 2, just 2 days after the initial attack, Marco Rubio explained in a press briefing (see video) that there was an imminent threat of Iran launching missiles against U.S. military bases and personnel in the Middle East in response to an upcoming Israeli attack on Iran and that the first objective was to preemptively destroy their missile capability. What was later explained is that the U.S. had been coordinating plans with Israel for many months prior as it became clear that the destruction of many missile sites and their underground uranium enrichment facilities in June 2025 had not deterred Iran from developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

On March 3, just 3 days after the initial attack, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff explained why the negotiations with Iranian envoys (see video) in Geneva, Switzerland and Muscat, Oman demonstrated once again—as if we needed more proof after years of failed negotiations—that they were not serious about ending their nuclear weapons program; that they were continuing the same stalling tactic that they had used with previous U.S. administrations, as they stockpiled more highly enriched uranium that served no purpose other than to build weapons. Trump had dispatched Witkoff and Jared Kushner weeks before to see if they were willing to stop enriching uranium. They even offered to give Iran uranium for their nuclear power plants for 10 years if they stopped enriching to weapons-grade but their offer was rejected. It looks like Witkoff's assessment of their declared resolute pursuit of nuclear weapons and long range missiles to threaten Israel, other Middle Eastern countries, Europe, and the U.S. may have been the last straw that affirmed to President Trump that the only way to stop the Iranian regime's growing and imminent threat is to destroy their capabilities. Israel's intelligence had determined that years ago, but Trump probably wanted to prove to himself that their assessment was correct and that negotiations were futile before giving the order to attack.

On March 4, just 4 days after the initial attack, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (March 4), laid out the four objectives of Operation Epic Fury (above), simply and clearly, but the press has been focused on the supposed illegality, futility, and adverse consequences of the military operation and pouncing on every perceived failure, however inconsequential, while ignoring the daily operational updates from numerous sources detailing the brilliant successes and minimal retaliatory impacts of an Iranian regime that was severely degraded in the early hours of the attack. They have portrayed the Trump administration as bumbling their way through, not fully anticipating the scale of retaliation, the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, and the impact to shipping. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The U.S. has clearly been working on this for many months, playing numerous scenarios to prepare responses in anticipation. For example, when Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz where 20 percent of the world's oil passes, and started attacking commercial ships, the U.S. destroyed all the military installations on Kharg Island from where 90 percent of Iran's oil is shipped, and President Trump warned them that if Iran impeded shipping in the Strait of Hormuz that the U.S. would destroy their oil shipping facilities as well. They quickly backed down. This wasn't a last-minute calculus to cover for a supposed blunder. It was thought through and anticipated well ahead of time. The Iranian regime's main revenue stream is from oil shipped from Kharg Island and they know they would be cutting their own throats if they can't ship oil to their biggest customers, like China. Trump appears to be sending Marines to secure the island to prevent the Iranian regime from being able to restore their military installations and hold their main oil shipping infrastructure as a major playing card—if not the most important card—in further negotiations.

With the Iranian people bravely taking to the streets in January by the hundreds of thousands and millions protesting the regime, it was clear that its citizens wanted regime change. In response, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under orders from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei slaughtered 30,000 or so unarmed protesters in the streets, murdered the injured in hospitals, and executed those sent to prison. And still the Iranian people protested quietly and loudly from their apartments at night, signaling their willingness to reject the regime and endure unthinkable horrors to finally end the 47 year reign of terror.

President Trump issued several public messages of support in January and assured them that "help is on the way," while Westerners watched in horror at the brutal slaughter and repression of the Iranian people by its own leaders. and urged the U.S. to take action to stop the bloodshed. As days turned into weeks and no help arrived many started to become disenchanted with the U.S. and Trump, thinking that Trump was more talk than action, that perhaps he was hoping that the people themselves would overthrow their own government—virtually impossible for a disarmed populace—and that Trump was unwilling to get the U.S. involved. Little did they understand that meaningful and successful help takes months of planning; something that had already been in the works for some time. It appears that Trump was sending encouragement, knowing that plans were in place, without giving the game away so that Israel and the U.S. could execute a brilliant operation to topple much of the leadership in the first stroke to pave the way for systematic dismantling of their weapons and military infrastructure.

Iranians have been cheering the toppling of their brutal leadership, both in Iran and around the world, in mass spontaneous demonstrations and social media posts publicly thanking President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu, the U.S., and Israel, for finally doing what needed to be done to bring down the greatest destabilizing force in the Middle East and the greatest state sponsor of terrorism. Naturally, the press which overwhelmingly support leftists and despise President Trump, can't countenance such vocal and widespread support and generally ignore it as they focus on minutiae, perpetuate leftist lies about a CIA coup that supposedly prevented a democratic revolution in Iran in 1953, and struggle to show any support for the oppressed women of Iran—real oppression, not the imaginary "systemic oppression," "toxic masculinity," and "patriarchy" claimed by radical feminists for nearly two centuries—courageously rising up against the brutal regime, while leftists implicitly support the terrorist regimes in Gaza (Hamas) and Iran. The ironies are numerous.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Forces and the United States military continue to execute a brilliant campaign to end the threat of the brutal Iranian regime.