President Trump rightly refuses to legitimize Iran's extortionate demands over the Strait of Hormuz, choosing instead to tighten economic pressure on a regime that backs Houthi attacks and threatens global energy routes. This signals a return to strength after years of feckless engagement that invited aggression from Tehran. Politically it underscores that American interests cannot be bartered away to satisfy radical preconditions. The Constitution empowers the executive to safeguard commerce and national security without deference to foreign ultimatums, a principle the Framers understood as essential to preserving liberty at home. Limited government requires rejecting the notion that endless talks with adversaries advance peace; true restraint means confronting threats directly rather than subsidizing them through weak diplomacy. Free markets thrive only when sea lanes remain open by resolve, not by concession. Trump's stance proves that deterrence, not dialogue, protects the republic.