Trump's courageous Iran strike: Letters to the Editor — June 24, 2025
The Issue: The US military bombing three Iranian nuclear sites to destroy Tehran's weapons program.
President Trump made the right call to deploy American forces to strike nuclear sites in Iran, and he should be commended for his decisive leadership (' 'Bunker busters' hit 3 nuke sites,' June 22).
Iran should never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Thanks to the resolve of our commander in chief and the courage of our armed forces, America, Israel and the free world are safer.
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Iran should now stand down and abandon any thought of retaliation against Americans or be prepared to face the consequences.
Trump has proven again that the United States is the leader of the free world and that America stands with Israel. God bless our troops.
Paul Bacon
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Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Our president had the courage to do what was absolutely necessary, but let's not allow ourselves to rejoice in victory just yet. As with every other military operation — especially in the Middle East — the long game awaits us.
Iran will surely try to save face, and it's just a question of how far it will go. Many options are on the table, but we know for certain that we have a president who will protect us at any cost, and that's very reassuring as we go through our daily lives.
Rob Feuerstein
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Staten Island
Thank you, Trump, for your decisive leadership in obliterating the cataclysmic threat posed by the world's leading sponsor of terror: The Iranian regime.
Iran aspires not for the well-being of its own people but for death to America and Israel. All of us who truly seek and celebrate peace join in praising and thanking Trump for his historic efforts to achieve it.
Brian Goldenfeld
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Thousand Oaks, Calif.
President Trump acted decisively, and with overwhelming strength, to destroy Iran's ability to build a nuclear bomb.
For over four decades, Iran's calls for 'Death to the Great Satan' were met with little response from the United States — until Iran's ability to build a nuclear bomb became imminent and its threats approached reality.
Undoubtedly, there will be second guessing by Democrats — and some rogue Republicans — regarding the legality of Trump's military action, but one fact is undeniably true: Trump gave Iran every opportunity to avoid our intervention. By refusing, Iran brought this action upon itself.
The only consequence of Trump's action is that America, and the world, became much safer than 24 hours earlier.
Jack Kaufman
Naples, Fla.
Finally: A president who says what he means and means what he says and has courage and faith in the greatest military in history to carry out their mission. God bless our country, our president and our military.
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R.A. Lessin
Staten Island
After decades of exporting terrorism and lying about its ambitions, Iran has received Trump's message that it can't have nuclear weapons.
The president also made it clear that negotiations with us could result in a reset in relations that would lead to a new era of cooperation between Washington and Teheran.
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With no air-defense systems left and his country being pummeled by the Israeli Air Force, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be smart to take Trump up on his offer.
Mel Young
Lawrence
Iran has proven to be a malignant state that seeks the elimination of Israel and America, its perceived Great and Little Satans.
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Iran and its proxies are moving in close steps toward Nazi Germany's intended goal of exterminating the Jewish people and recreating the world in its own image.
During the Holocaust, the world remained silent; thankfully, in our time, Trump refused to do so. Our president stands firm and is committed to Israel's survival and America's leadership.
There are few options available when dealing with the cancer known as Iran: Either you terminate it, or it terminates you. The world closed its eyes during the Holocaust, but Trump is keeping our eyes wide open.
S.P. Hersh
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Lawrence
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Los Angeles Times
11 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Threatened with deportation, these L.A. workers keep doing their jobs amid fear
Any day now, Noemi Gongora knows border patrol agents can snatch her up from the streets and send her back to El Salvador, a country she fled more than 30 years ago. But every morning, she steps out of the small bedroom she rents for $550 a month and goes to work for a street vendor selling cocteles de curiles — clam cocktails. The stand, one of dozens at the marketplace, sits along a busy road near the border of Koreatown and Pico Union, two densely populated neighborhoods with a large number of Korean and Central American immigrants, an area likely to be targeted by federal agents. Gongora, 64, knows this and that the $50 she makes a day is not worth the risk of deportation but there is still a life to be lived and bills to pay, and above all, she needs the money for the medication she uses to manage her cholesterol and diabetes. Medicine that is starting to run out. Everyday, thousands of street vendors set up shop on a piece of pavement in Los Angeles and beyond to make a living and create a path out of poverty or have their own bricks-and-mortar one day. These self-starters are American citizens, immigrants living in the country legally and illegally, and are part of a $504-million industry in L.A., according to estimates from the Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit public policy research organization. But the immigration raids that are taking place across the city, sparking protests, sporadic violence and the rare deployment of the National Guard and U.S. Marines have brought economic hardship, forcing vendors who are illegally in the country to choose between staying home safely or risking deportation to provide for themselves and their families. 'They're fearful of stepping out of their home,' said Gloria Medina of Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education, a grassroots organization based in South L.A. 'Some [families] have made a decision that one will stay at home and one will risk going to work because if one is risking going to work and gets caught up in a raid, at least there is one parent at home that children can come back to and those are really hard decisions folks have to make.' Medina said some families are afraid of falling into debt as they're unable to pay bills. There are also expenses like college tuition for their kids, medicine for chronic diseases and caring for their elderly parents. She said some parents send their U.S.-born children to pay the utility bills, which comes with its own risks. 'Yes, my teenage son or daughter can go and run these errands for the family so that we can, you know, keep the gas on and keep the lights on and the water running,' Medina said. 'But there's still a fear of making sure that they're not going to be mistakenly kidnapped or snatched up in a raid.' Some of those hardships extend to workers who go door-to-door to sell products for companies such as Avon and Mary Kay. Daniel Flaming of the Economic Roundtable said street vendors play a crucial role in the local economy, purchasing products from suppliers and selling them. 'I think the reality is that street vendors have been marginalized and it would be horrifying to be out there in the street with a cart when ICE guys are roaming around looking for folks to pick up,' he said. 'Their carts are an important equity to them and it seems like they're at risk of being handcuffed and having their carts become abandoned property.' In a statement to The Times, the office of Los Angeles Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, whose district includes Koreatown and Pico-Union, said it has been working with immigrant rights organizations and day labor centers to host 'Know Your Rights' workshops, distribute flyers to businesses and deliver groceries to people who are afraid to leave home. Additionally, her office said it has been organizing other safety events to train people on how to deal with federal agents. Earlier this year, Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) introduced Senate Bill 635 that aims to prevent immigration enforcement agents from accessing street vendor data collected by local governments, prohibiting sidewalk vending programs from inquiring the immigration status of vendors and prohibiting code enforcement officers from assisting federal agents. 'Street vendors are pivotal to California's culture and economy, and nationally they have been huge contributors to their communities,' she said in a written statement. 'Now more than ever, California must come together to uplift and empower microbusinesses across the State.' The bill was also co-sponsored by several groups including Inclusive Action for the City, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Community Power Collective and the Public Counsel among others. Since then, individuals and groups have stepped up efforts to assist vendors. Among them is K-Town for All, a volunteer-led grassroots organization that serves Koreatown's homeless community. In recent weeks, the group has raised tens of thousands of dollars to help vendors with their wages, bills and other expenses and has helped 80 families so far, according to the group's Instagram account. 'We'll buy out our immigrant vendors so they can afford to stay safe at home and provide our unhoused neighbors with fresh, filling delicious food,' a June 11 post read. 'No one should have to risk getting kidnapped just to provide for their families.' Though the immigration raids have taken a toll on families, they have also shown how people come together to protect the most vulnerable, said Medina, the executive director of SCOPE. 'As we're seeing so much ugliness and hate and how its been manifesting in our communities, at the same time we're seeing unity, joy and mutual aid,' she said. 'It's a beautiful thing that we need to elevate.' In Canoga Park, some 25 miles from Koreatown, Jackie Sandoval, 25, loaded pans and utensils into a van at the end of a workday. Sandoval sells empanadas, costilla de puerco — pork ribs — and other dishes at her sidewalk stand. She said the usual vendors that line up next to her on the block are staying home because of the immigration raids. 'They aren't selling because they are scared,' she said. Lyzzeth Mendoza, a senior organizer with Community Power Collective, which advocates for vendors, said nearly all of the 500 vendors that her group works with are undocumented or are in the process of seeking to become U.S. citizens. Since the immigration sweeps, about half of the vendors are going out, she said. In some neighborhoods, even the American citizens are staying home, hurting vendors' business. 'There's definitely a chill effect,' Mendoza said. 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Axios
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Axios
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