Yesterday morning (Tuesday), Mike Arnold, an American Christian cleric, politician and founder of Africa Arise International, stirred social media. In a Facebook post he said: “The Iran deal looks done, and it’s pretty much their unconditional surrender. Trump will emerge stronger than ever. Buckle up, Nigeria is next.” Within a few hours, the message had racked up a flurry of over 800 responses, 3,200+ likes and 262 shares.
That’s understandable, isn’t it? Let’s briefly explain matters. On 28 February 2026, two of the foremost military powers in the world – the United States of America and the Jewish State of Israel – jointly declared war on the terrorist Islamic Republic of Iran. America called it “Operation Epic Fury.” Israel monikered it “Operation Roaring Lion.” When a lion and an eagle combine to descend on a hyena or jackal, that prey will be better off dead than alive. That is exactly how I summarise the state that the jihadist state of Iran finds itself in right now.
Like a cornered hyena or jackal, Iran was blindly lobbing missiles and drones at both friends and foes – Israel, US military bases in the Persian Gulf region, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. While significant damage was done to civilian and government strategic facilities in the oil-rich Arab states with some human casualties, 98 per cent of explosive ordnance sent to Israel was neutralised by the famous Iron Dome and the newly invented Directed Energy Weapon (DEW), Iron Beam.
Apart from shooting down two American attack helicopters with no human casualties recorded, Iran’s performance against the US and Israel was a total nonstarter. Its nuclear threat was destroyed, its leadership wiped out in targeted layers, its “missile cities” ground to dust or buried alive, its “ring of fire” proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen crippled, its oil industry ruined and its major cities left almost unrecognisable. The threat posed by the Islamic Republic to its neighbours and the world at large has been extinguished.
The only move Iran made which hurt itself and the world at large was the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow passage is 39 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, where 20–25 per cent of global trade must pass through. This closure, which was compounded by the US’s imposition of a total blockade of Iranian ports, shot oil prices from the $60–$70 range to the $100–$110 bracket, significantly skyrocketing global inflation and exacerbating logistics and inventory pains.
This worldwide economic impact, the unsolved situation of Iran’s hidden enriched uranium and other matters forced US President Donald Trump to offer Iran opportunities to negotiate and salvage some of its remaining ego and national assets. Trump also has the midterm elections breathing down his neck and would do his best to retain the overwhelming mandate that Americans gave him and his party in the November 2024 presidential election.
For about a week now, rumours of a peace agreement have been circulating. On Monday, 15 June 2026, President Trump confirmed that the peace deal had been reached in principle and that a formal physical signing ceremony would be performed in Switzerland, with Vice President J. D. Vance leading the American delegation. Iran is expected to be led by its chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The question that probably has to wait till Friday is: what are the terms of this peace deal?
Has Iran agreed to give up its foolish nuclear pursuits? The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is sure. For the embattled people of Iran, the most important question is: will the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-led government of the mullahs be allowed to remain in power? Americans and other concerned people all over the world will want to know too. Regime change was a central declared purpose of America in the war. Indeed, Trump made a speech assuring Iranians: “Help is on its way.” If the peace deal leaves the Islamic regime in power, the mission will be termed a failure. It means the Islamic regime will simply hide under the peace deal to recover from its injuries and bounce back, bringing everyone back to square one. By then, Trump and his no-nonsense Israeli partner, Benjamin Netanyahu, will be off the stage.
The nuke must go. So also must the IRGC. Iran must return to the Iranian people, who should be free to choose their future bereft of the discredited Islamic totalitarianism. That is also my dream, and here is my reason. The Islamic Republic is a major sponsor of Islamic terrorism in Nigeria. If the mullahs remain in power, Nigeria – and the State of Israel – will still be in danger. So will the Middle East region. If there must be a peace deal, it must be a deal that removes the problem, not merely postpones it to another day.
As Mike Arnold insinuated, I am also hopeful that with the conclusion of the war on Iran, the USA and Israel will have more time to attend to the situation in Nigeria. Since America’s Christmas Day 2026 bombing of a terrorist dump in Sokoto, the Islamists have advanced into the South West and have started making forays into the South East through Turkey-empowered jihadist agents. America and Israel must move fast and protect the Christian population since the Nigerian government and military appear transfixed, with their hands tied behind their backs by unknown forces.
Since our government cannot protect us or allow us to protect ourselves with equal counterforce, we will happily accept help from any quarters. Let it be known that besides the endless bloodshed and anarchy that will ensue throughout the West African subregion, threats against American and Israeli interests will balloon if the Islamisation agenda succeeds in Nigeria and the country becomes an Islamic theocracy.
The time to step in and do the needful is now.
