Brandon Weichert's verdict came out flat as the night unfolded: the war is back on the menu.
Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Qeshm, then reports of Kharg, and before we signed off, unconfirmed reports of anti-ship missiles and drones launched at US Navy warships in the Persian Gulf.
We were counting missile flight times on air.
His argument has never wavered, this was never about nukes.
The one true red line is Hormuz. Iran can't surrender it while this regime stands, Washington can't concede it, and two absolutes leave only collision.
He reads tonight's reported target list as battle-space preparation, softening the coastline for an eventual amphibious move on the islands, likely after the midterms.
And he keeps circling back to McNamara's warning: rationality will not save us.
One claim he stressed was unverified but couldn't shake: that earlier in this war, a Navy commander demanded WRITTEN orders before taking ships into the strait.
Commanders ask for paper when they doubt they're coming back.
Part of me still holds that Iran's battered economy makes pragmatism the smarter bet.
But with funeral crowds chanting revenge in three cities, tonight didn't belong to pragmatism.
@WeTheBrandon
