Unlike the endless wars of the past that dragged on for years and for decades with little to show for it, Operation Epic Fury has delivered a decisive military result in just weeks.

Iran has an important choice, a chance to make a deal, a good deal — a wise deal.

As part of that effort, the United States has imposed an ironclad blockade that grows more powerful by the day.

Every ship that the U.S. believes meets our criteria, either Iranian ships or to and from Iranian ports, has been turned around.

As of this morning, 34 total.

Iran's battered military, the IRGC specifically, has been reduced to a gang of pirates with a flag.

They cloak their aggression in slogans, but the world now sees them for what they are, criminals on the high seas.

They don't control anything. They're acting like pirates, acting like terrorists.

They are the bad actors.

The vessels that the Iranians seized in recent days, a couple of them, they're not American or Israeli ships. They're just random ships.

They drove their little speedboats up to and shot at those ships with AK-47s. Anyone with a speedboat, a gun, and the wrong intentions can do that.

They know that we, the United States of America, control the flow of global shipping. And we know that they know.

Their real navy is at the bottom of the Arabian Gulf.

President Trump has authorized the United States Navy to destroy any Iranian fast boats that attempt to put mines in the water or disrupt passage through the Strait of Hormuz to shoot and kill.

Our commanders have clear rules of engagement: If Iran is putting mines in the water or otherwise threatening American commercial shipping or American forces, we will shoot to destroy.

It's also worth saying this should not be America's fight alone.

We barely use the Strait of Hormuz as a country. Our energy doesn't flow through there, and we have plenty of energy.

Europe and Asia have benefited from our protection for decades, but the time for free riding is over.

America and the free world deserve allies who are capable, who are loyal, and who understand that being an ally is not a one-way street. It's a two-way street.

We are not counting on Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do. and might want to start doing less talking and having less fancy conferences in Europe and get in a boat.

This is much more their fight than ours.