Peace through strength has many interpretations, but it's a central driving principle of conservative thought. The United States bombing Iran and forcing them into a pitiful showing of "firing back" at the United States is a critical display of that notion. Donald Trump demonstrated U.S. power, and now everyone must take that threat seriously - including the other giants like Russia and China.

In the aftermath of the bombing, Iran started saber rattling about closing the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway is a significant source of oil in the world, especially for China, which purchases 80-90% of Iran's oil.

After the bombing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaned hard on China. The world had just witnessed the United States bomb Iran, and no one knew it or could stop it.

Not that long later, China responded by telling Iran to pipe down. "China called for stability for shipping routes in the Middle East after Iran said Sunday its parliament voted to close the Strait of Hormuz."

That led to a Bloomberg piece with a headline that tells the whole story: "Iran Stands Alone Against Trump and Israel, Stripped of Allies."

It's an accurate description of where Iran stands now. They stand alone; they can't cause economic pain to anyone except those they consider allies. Their military has been leveled beyond recognition. The nuclear program has taken a severe hit.

To be sure, the nuclear threat isn't over. American bombers took out the largest and most well-known nuclear facilities in Iran. According to all our intelligence, there are many other sites. That's why, when Trump threatened Iran, he did so, pointing out that future attacks would be easy.

We're now back in the negotiation phase, and Iran knows everyone means business. The Iranian military has been defanged, no allies are left, and the Iranian regime is spiraling.

The point about allies is critical because the nexus of Iran, China, and Russia was broken in this maneuver. China was compelled to order Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, yet provided no support.

The United States and Israel shared intelligence and worked together on taking out Iran. Neither Russia nor China have offered anything to Iran. The vaunted BRICS group is splintered, and America's B-2 bombers showed how weak that coalition really is.

Russia is in a quagmire in Ukraine, testing on the edge of a recession. Trump's decision to kill oil prices through smart policy has cut the legs out from under Putin's regime. For all the talk about how Trump is too friendly, he's the first one actually to hit Russia where it hurts: oil and gas.

China is actually in a recession, the worst in decades, though it'll never admit it. Recent reports indicate that the Chinese property sector, where most Chinese citizens hold their wealth, has lost $18 trillion in value, surpassing the $12.8 trillion lost by Americans during the 2008 financial crisis.

When Trump imposed tariffs on China, he was targeting an economy that was already struggling under the weight of a severe recession. Tariff policy has driven them further to the ground.

The so-called "DragonBear" alliance is reeling in ways it never has before. And now Iran has been wiped out militarily. Not only are we not entering World War III, as critics claim, but we're also not even close to a multipolar world.

The world remains in the shadows of American power and strength. Many people had forgotten this point because the Obama and Biden administrations spent a combined 12 years backsliding on everything.

But just as in his first term, Trump has reminded the world that American strength and power are real. We can strike anywhere on the globe, and there's not a single thing another country can do about it. And when the United States demands peace, which involves a denuclearized Iran, we mean what we say.

That credibility was lost under Biden. Putin started lining up troops on the Ukrainian border just a few months after Biden took office - his weakness was evident. The American withdrawal from Afghanistan was such a disaster that it directly precipitated the start of the Ukraine war.

American credibility was lost, and the world became a much more dangerous place. Iran believed the same and helped Hamas launch the October 7 attacks.

Fortunately, we're starting to roll back the evils of that era. Israel has managed to decapitate Hamas, Hezbollah, and now Iran with the help of the United States. Russia and China are far weaker than they've ever been. It's a starting point, with a lot more work to go.

Peace through strength matters, and for the first time in several years, we've re-established it.