President Trump had tough words for the leaders of Iran on Friday, saying on “Fox & Friends” that they are responsible for explosions that heavily damaged two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday. Now the president needs to back up his words with action to send the revolutionary Islamist leaders in Tehran a message they won’t forget.
Iran’s radical regime will exploit American weakness, but it has a history of retreating when confronted by strength. If President Trump fails to make Iran pay a price for its terrorist attack on the tankers, Iran will be emboldened to launch even more attacks – not just on tankers, but elsewhere in the Middle East.
The U.S. does not need to strike Iran militarily at this time. But America needs to stand firm, using sanctions and other tools at our disposal and not taking the possibility of military action off the table.
Our strategy should focus on tightening the economic chokehold now weakening the Islamic Republic. We can keep pushing harder to cut off Iran’s oil exports as well as going after other kinds of exports. We can also put pressure on Syria, so Iran has to spend billions of dollars more to prop up the brutal pro-Tehran regime in Damascus in its civil war.
If and only if the radicals in Tehran recognize that their regime is on the brink of collapse will they come back to the table and negotiate a deal to dismantle their nuclear program and stop their terror attacks and aggression. Trying to appease Iran is a strategy doomed to failure.
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