There Must Be More

Erick Erickson on Apr 10, 2026

In Western Civilization, Christian ethics still, in some ways, dominate society. Murder is wrong. Stealing is wrong. Lying is wrong. Iran is dominated by Shiite Muslims who, at heart, embrace Taqiyya, or religious dissimulation, in ways Sunni Muslims tend to reject. It is why more must be done to Iran.

Taqiyya, in practice, means lying to the infidel. The Hadith, or traditions of the prophet, says "war is deceit" and commanders may use lies to advance their cause. The Iranian regime outmaneuvered the Obama administration with peace talks. To this day, Democrats insist Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, but Iran was clearly building a nuclear weapon. The regime lies to the West.

Now, after less than two months of war against Iran, President Donald Trump has called a ceasefire. He appears to be the only person who has ceased firing in the Middle East. He says Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran says otherwise. He says Iran will give up their nuclear materials. Iran says otherwise. Given the practices of the Iranians, it is more than likely they will lie all the way to a mushroom cloud over some Western city.

We have left Iran without an air force or much of a navy. We have destroyed, not decimated, much of the Iranian capacity to make war. But we have not ended their ability to make war. Iran will be resupplied by both the Russians and the Chinese. We have left their military command structure and political leadership in disarray, but it will be rebuilt. Iran is threatening to toll ships going through the Strait of Hormuz now. Before the war, Iran did not do that.

A super tanker sailing through the Strait of Hormuz can hold around 2 million barrels of oil. 21 million barrels a day typically go through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is taxing each ship now up to two dollars per barrel of oil, which would amount to $42 million a day. That would generate in excess of $15 billion a year for Iran to rebuild its ability to make war.

Many who ardently supported the war do not want to admit that returning to the status quo ante, with Iran now taxing ships going through the Strait of Hormuz is a loss to the United States. The cheerleading seems to have more to do with staying on President Trump's good side and hoping he does more. He must do more. He cannot wind up like his predecessors, duped by an Iranian regime hell-bent on getting nuclear weapons.

Iran's theocratic leadership fundamentally believes they were put on this earth by Allah to wipe out the Jews and bring about the return of the Mahdi, the Islamic messiah. If you are a secularist who has a hard time believing faithful adherents of Jesus Christ who truly believe He rose from the dead, you will have an even harder time believing the Iranians believe this. But they really do and their entire regime is premised on it. They believe that to accomplish their divine mission, they must wipe out Israel.

It is why the president must do more. To the extent the Trump administration had no endgame, doing everything possible to destabilize the Iranian regime must be it, if not outright regime change. The president did not have to pick this fight, but he did. He grabbed a tiger by its tail and let go without defanging it or declawing it. Iran will attempt to maul us. They believe they won this war. They believe they have no reason to back down.

Ultimately, the administration can be proud of what they accomplished in less than two months. Iran is now cut off from its former Arab partners. Dubai is no longer a safe haven for money laundering. They have been set back significantly militarily and economically. But if they control the Strait of Hormuz, they will rebuild. If they keep their uranium, they will work to use it. There must be more done. This peace must not revert to the status quo ante with emboldened theocrats hell-bent on the apocalypse or we will be less safe today than we were before the bombing began.

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To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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