OPINION:
From now until the polls close on Nov. 5, Americans will evaluate whether they are better off today than they were four years ago under Donald Trump’s leadership. In poll after poll, Americans answer this question with a resounding no. Sadly, if the same question were posed to the Iranian regime, the answer would be yes.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris promised to restore American leadership on the global stage. While completely foreseeable, the Biden-Harris approach to Iran over the past 3½ years has not only failed to achieve its stated goals but has also enriched and emboldened Iran. By embracing appeasement rather than pressure, the Biden-Harris team has undermined American interests and strengthened the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.
Under former President Donald Trump, Iran was broke, its proxies were weaker and Israel was safer. The Trump administration held Iran in check through robust regime that crippled its economy and limited its ability to fund its regional ambitions. This “maximum pressure” campaign, which included strict enforcement of sanctions and the targeted elimination of key figures such as Qasem Soleimani, sent a clear message that the U.S. would not tolerate Iran’s destabilizing activities.
All Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris had to do when they took office was to continue Mr. Trump’s strategy of maximum pressure on the Iranian regime and expand the Abraham Accords. At great cost to our national security and to the safety and prosperity of our indispensable ally Israel, the Biden-Harris administration chose a different path.
The administration has unfrozen billions of dollars of Iranian assets, provided sanctions relief to Iran and allowed it to sell oil to China and weapons to Russia. In just 3½ years, Iran has made hundreds of billions of dollars — money it has used to fund its terrorist proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Moreover, by desperately clinging to the fatally flawed nuclear deal through a policy of appeasement, the Biden-Harris administration has enabled Iran’s nuclear ambitions. According to an analysis this month from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies:
“The U.S. intelligence community no longer assesses that Iran has paused work on the development of nuclear weapons, according to the latest Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) report to Congress. The report removed a key finding ODNI has included annually since 2019, which states: ’Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities necessary to produce a testable nuclear device.’ … The ODNI report concludes that Tehran has ’undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so,’ while underscoring ’a notable increase this year in Iranian [officials’] public statements about nuclear weapons, suggesting the topic is becoming less taboo.’”
In 3½ years, the administration has enriched Iran, emboldened its regional ambitions, strengthened its proxies and super-charged its nuclear program. The Iranian regime is better off under its leadership, but every other nation in the region is less safe and secure.
On Nov. 5, Americans have the opportunity to reject the weakness and appeasement of the Biden-Harris administration and vote for the commonsense leadership, peace and prosperity of a Trump administration.
• Jeff Bartos is a Republican strategist and former candidate for U.S. Senate and lieutenant governor from Pennsylvania. @Jeff_Bartos.
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