In mid October, Donald Trump outlined a strategy to defeat the Iranian Regime that was dedicated to countering Iran’s regional destabilisation, support of terrorism, and use of ballistic weapons, as well as its illicit nuclear programme.

At the same time, Trump also spoke about the heartbreaking suffering inflicted on the Iranian people by the brutal Regime. This was the first time in the history of the Iranian Regime that the US had adopted a comprehensive policy to combat the mullahs’ malign influence.

Now America must turn Trump’s words into action.

Iran is currently waging war against the US and its interests, combining cyber attacks, assassinations, political subversion, bribery, corruption, terrorism, and proxy warfare.

If Trump’s policy is to succeed, the US must fight back- and on multiple fronts. It is clear now that sanctions- although necessary- are not enough on their own.

What the US needs to do:

• Politically isolate the regime,

• Militarily confront the regime

• Supporting and empower the Iranian people

• Bring European powers on board

The US has already started its campaign against the Iranian Regime.

In September, the Treasury Department sanctions 11 entities and individuals for supporting Iran’s militant Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its ballistic missile program as well as supporting Iran-based networks that were responsible for cyber attacks against the US financial sector.

Then, in October, the House of Representatives issued sanctions against entities and individuals that supported the Iranian Regime’s weapons programs.

Currently, Congress is working on amendments to the nuclear agreement which will remove sunset clauses and improve inspections. They are also considering calling on Europe to designate Iran-backed Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) and designating the IRGC as an FTO.

The Iranian Resistance

What the US should endeavour to put at the heart of its policy on Iran, is the Iranian people and their legitimate resistance.

As Trump has noted in many of his speeches, the Iranian people are the biggest victims of the Iranian Regime and they have far more in common with people living under democracies than with the mullahs that rule them.

The Regime fears the power that their people have, which is why we should boost this power wherever possible.

Adam Ereli, the U.S. ambassador to Bahrain and deputy State Department spokesperson during the George W. Bush administration, wrote: “Iran is ruled by a regime that is at war with its own people…Iranian activists who call for an investigation and accountability for the massacre [in which the Regime slaughtered 30,000 political prisoners in 1988] continue to be imprisoned and their families persecuted. It is imperative that we listen to the voices of these victims and support their quest for justice.”

Source » ncr-iran