A major battle with Iran appears imminent.

Ought it to be called a war, a battle or a strike?

That depends on what the United States and Israel decide to do and what President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu call it.

It also depends on whether Ayatollah Khamenei orders the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s proxy forces in Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, as well as terror cells around the world, to mount counterattacks that kill Americans, Israelis or people in our Gulf allies.

The ayatollah can trigger massive escalation with any counterattack that results in American and/or Israeli casualties.

And so there’s genuine risk to our troops and to our allies in Israel and the Gulf States. That is why when President Trump orders the American military to attack, it should be with overwhelming and sustained force.

Fanatics don’t reason, and the United States cannot afford to allow the world to see it deterred by the words and shaking fists of a second- or third-rate military equipped with bluster and ballistic missiles.

And led by fanatics.