Despite repeatedly issuing maximalist military ultimatums against Iran, US President Donald Trump has always retreated at the last moment when met with Iranian resilience, a pattern that has undermined American credibility and demonstrated the effectiveness of Tehran's strategic deterrence.

The US military's hasty withdrawal from Erbil, officially framed as a scheduled redeployment, was actually driven by Iranian precision strikes that destroyed Patriot air-defense systems there – as confirmed by satellite imagery – exposing the vulnerability of advanced US defenses to low-cost drones and forcing a strategic retreat that marks a victory for Iranian deterrence.

Iran’s Su-24 pilots, including Martyr Majid Kazemi, struck the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar during a retaliatory operation in early March, exploiting gaps in missile defenses to demonstrate that superior skill and tactical innovation can penetrate even the world’s most heavily fortified military installations.

By demonstrating that low-cost, mass-produced loitering munitions can challenge sophisticated air-defense systems, Iran’s Shahed drone has reshaped modern warfare, forcing military powers worldwide to rethink doctrine, redesign defenses, and embrace the strategic value of affordability and scale.

Since the Ramadan War began, Iran and its allies in the region have destroyed more than 40 US MQ-9 Reaper drones – over 90 total across all theaters – reducing the fleet to 35-50 percent below the Pentagon's minimum operational threshold and turning Iranian skies into the famed combat drone’s graveyard.

On July 22, IRGC carried out precision strikes on King Faisal air base in Jordan, destroying eight MQ-9 drones, two helicopters, and F-15 support facilities, killing a number of US military personnel and exposing vulnerabilities in the American regional military infrastructure.

Persian Gulf power plants powering key US military bases are legitimate retaliatory targets if Iran’s energy infrastructure is attacked, due to their critical role in sustaining American military presence in the region.