And then, as swiftly as the attack had begun, the calculus shifted. The defensive phase gave way to response.
From well beyond Iran’s visual horizon—positions calculated to remain outside immediate retaliation range—American Tomahawk cruise missiles launched. They hugged the terrain at low altitude, guided by satellite and pre-programmed coordinates toward the very batteries that had fired minutes earlier. Simultaneously, Roosevelt’s fighters roared off the deck, their engines cutting through the humid Gulf air. Precision-guided munitions detached from their wings, each assigned to radar installations, launch platforms, and command nodes identified during the initial barrage.
