Obama Figures Chastising Trump on Iran Have Zero Self-Awareness

Excerpt President Donald Trump has tried everything from negotiations to military force to blunt Tehran’s nuclear, missile, and regional aspirations. He has now settled on economic pressure. The president deserves significant credit for his willingness to tackle this challenge, including his decision to strike the Islamic Republic with the aid of the Israelis earlier this year. However, Iran has responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz, attacking U.S. bases, and saturating the skies of our regional allies. Iranian escalation has created other problems for Washington, such as depleted munitions stockpiles and a spike in oil prices. This could imperil Republican prospects in the November midterm elections — something the regime seems keen to exploit. Jonathan Schanzer is executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington D.C., where Behnam Ben Taleblu is Iran Program senior director and a senior fellow.