Condoleezza Rice on Donald Trump

Condoleezza Rice expressed significant support for the Trump administration's military operations in the Middle East, specifically encouraging the President to "take care of Iran for good" following strikes that reportedly eliminated the Iranian Supreme Leader. The former Secretary of State viewed these actions as a necessary effort to neutralize Iran’s regional military capability, which she described as having been a long-standing threat to the U.S. and its allies for nearly five decades. She asserted that the Iranian regime must be rendered incapable of further hostile military action while it is in a moment of vulnerability.

Rice contextualized the administration's strong stance by referencing historical grievances, including the 1979 hostage crisis and the 1983 Beirut bombing, while also linking Iranian actions to casualties in Iraq. She argued that dismissing the Iranian regime as non-threatening is ahistorical, noting its role in arming and equipping proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas. Her comments suggested a belief that the current military posture offered a critical, perhaps fleeting, opportunity to definitively resolve the enduring conflict with Tehran.