Iran Reflections

An oil tanker is shown on fire in the Gulf of Oman on June 13, 2019. (AP Photo/ISNA)

Appeasing Iran Isn't an Option - Prof. Eyal Zisser

Surprisingly, Iran's recent belligerence in the Persian Gulf is being accepted by the international community with apathy. Voices in the West are expressing understanding and even empathy toward Iran, which is perceived as a victim fending off an aggressor - the U.S. In Europe and even certain circles in the U.S., it is largely accepted that the nuclear deal successfully secured peace and quiet.
    

A similar argument was made 80 years ago, whereby U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt forced the leaders of Japan to attack Pearl Harbor by imposing painful sanctions on the country. But Iran of today, similar to Japan in 1941, isn't a peace-seeking country but a belligerent regional power that doesn't hide its expansionist ambitions.
    

History teaches us that an aggressor can't be placated with concessions. It wasn't Trump who forced Iran to take the path of violence and terror, and he isn't the reason it is trying to conquer the Middle East. Iran's essence - anchored in the ayatollahs' fundamentalist and apocalyptic worldview - was established well before Trump entered office.
    

Iran doesn't need to be appeased; it has to be curbed and subdued. 

The writer is a lecturer in the Middle East History Department at Tel Aviv University. 

(Israel Hayom)

Time to Intensify Pressure on Iran - Jacob Nagel & Tzvi Kahn

As Iran's economic plight grows increasingly dire, the regime may have concluded that it cannot risk waiting another year and a half to outlast President Trump. Consequently, the regime adopted a new strategy of nuclear and military brinksmanship aimed at testing U.S. resolve, strengthening Iranian deterrence, and blackmailing the U.S. and Europe to gain sanctions relief.
    

America must not be intimidated. Instead, it should intensify its maximum pressure campaign and increase sanctions on Iran even further. In so doing, Washington can present Ayatollah Khamenei with a choice: Either renegotiate the nuclear deal, on our terms, or risk the collapse of Iran's economy and possibly your regime.
    

America should urge the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN body tasked with monitoring Iran's nuclear program, to strengthen its inspections of suspicious sites where Iran previously engaged in illicit nuclear activity, and to publish its findings. The Iran nuclear archive obtained by Israel identifies additional nuclear facilities, equipment, and activities previously unknown to the IAEA. The archive suggests that covert nuclear activity, especially in the weaponization arena, may continue today.

Brig.-Gen. Jacob Nagel, a visiting fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, headed Israel's National Security Council. Tzvi Kahn is a senior Iran analyst at FDD. 

(The Hill)