Confronting Iran

“Outlaw regimes” like North Korea and Iran pose some of the biggest threats to America’s national security today. Both countries have aggressively pursued weapons programs which defy international law and arms control agreements signed with the United States. In the case of Iran, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) spearheaded by the Obama administration only emboldened Tehran to intensify its clandestine operations, including the funding of terrorism around the world.

“Overwhelming military force will always be a backstop for protecting the American people, but it should not be the first option.”

US President Donald Trump, who has pledged to put America’s national security above all else, believes that a strategy of maximum pressure is the best way to convince rogue states to end their nefarious activities. This approach has already led to a thawing of relations between the US and North Korea. Yet Trump will not compromise on his final objective: “final, fully verified denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

“Trump’s “diplomacy is anchored in a deliberate approach that gives the United States an advantage in confronting outlaw regimes.”

Trump’s strategy toward Iran is no different. He withdrew the US from the JCPOA because the agreement fell short of effecting permanent Iranian denuclearization. Leaving the JCPOA has freed the US to reimpose harsh economic sanctions on Iran, including an oil export embargo. A second component of Trump’s strategy is deterrence: The president has made clear his willingness to use military might to protect US interests. Thirdly, the Trump administration is working to expose the Iranian regime’s corruption, political repression and support of foreign terrorist groups. America is, thereby, signaling its support of the Iranian people, who have staged a series of peaceful demonstrations demanding that the Iranian ruling elites focus on the well-being of the citizenry instead of diverting government revenue into their own pockets and toward foreign military interventions.

“US President Ronald Reagan understood the power of exposure when he cast the Soviet Union as ‘an evil empire.’”

When dealing with outlaw regimes, straight talk is more effective than veiled diplomatic language. President Ronald Reagan’s decision to confront the Soviet Union head-on and expose its hypocrisies, while signaling his willingness to sit down and talk, helped bring about that regime’s downfall. Trump’s “disruptive boldness” is, likewise, part of a larger strategy to convince the leadership of Iran and North Korea that capitulating to US demands is the only viable long-term option for their respective countries.