Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday praised President Donald Trump's "decisiveness" in furtively bombing three nuclear facilities in Iran over the weekend, cautioning that the Islamic nation may be attracted to mutually assured destruction.
DeSantis's comments came at a Clearwater press conference Monday, days after Trump authorized the largest B-2 bomber strike in U.S. history to severely cripple Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities. The controversial move—criticized by Democrats and anti-war Republicans—was the most direct military action against Iran in nearly 50 years.
But DeSantis, an Iraq War veteran, lauded Trump for destroying (or at least considerably delaying) the Islamic Republic's ability to build a nuclear weapon, an event that the Florida Governor believes could have disastrous consequences.
"[Iran is] responsible for maiming thousands of American servicemembers and probably killing over a thousand US service members," DeSantis told onlookers Monday morning.
He called Iran the leader of state-sponsored terrorism, noting that their proxy satellite militias of the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Israel have carried out Iranian-backed terrorism for decades.
And because of Iranian "ideology," DeSantis worries that Iran may be "induced," not "deterred," by the idea of mutually-assured destruction, which prevents warring nations from nuking each other for fear of utter demolition.
"The problem with Iran is these are militant Shia Islamists. They have a very apocalyptic, radical ideology," he said. "I think President Trump showed decisiveness to be able to act when he did."
Last Thursday, Trump told the world that he would take two weeks to decide whether to enter the Iranian fray. The announcement came days after Israel said that the U.S. was the only country with "bunker buster" bombs that could destroy Iran's underground Fordow nuclear facility.
But Trump had already made up his mind, Axios reported.
He had greenlit a secret plan to send B-2 stealth bombers and marine-launched Tomahawks to bombard the Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz facilities. And late Saturday night, the plan went off without a hitch.
And while the Trump administration initially claimed the facilities were "obliterated"—later changing that to severely damaged—an outbreak of congressional backlash ensued.
Many congressional leaders had not been notified of the plan, and some Democrats and anti-war Republicans—like Sen. Thomas Massie of Kentucky—claimed the move was "unconstitutional" for unilaterally airstriking another country. Trump has since mobilized MAGA loyalists to primary Massie in the next election.
Under DeSantis, the Florida Division of Emergency Management has partnered with veterans like state Sen. Jay Collins to help locate and evacuate Americans trapped in Israel, which kicked off the latest round of hostilities 11 days ago when they wiped out Iranian nuclear scientists and a slew of high-ranking military leaders.
The governor approved four jetliners to bring back around 1,500 young Jewish Americans who were in Israel for a heritage trip when the airstrikes began. Partnering with the Israeli Navy, the Americans boarded a cruise ship to Larnaca, Cyprus, where rescue flights were waiting.
So far, the planes have brought over 300 Americans back to the U.S.
"Rescue flights will be continuous until we get people to safety," DeSantis said Monday.
This isn't Florida's first foray into evacuating Americans trapped in war-ravaged countries. DeSantis approved rescue flights in 2023 to rescue over 300 Americans stuck in Israel after Hamas ambushed, murdered, and kidnapped scores of Israelis on Oct. 7.
He later chartered flights to Haiti as the Caribbean nation battled prison breaks and rampant gang violence, evacuating nearly 200 back to safety.
