Thanks to the hapless Biden Administration, Iran has roared back to light with not just their own bits of terrorism, but funding others. After being thwarted once by Donald Trump in his first administration, Iran is poised for yet another comeback to terrorism relevance.
In 2019, Trump took out General Qasem Soleimani in 2019, after Iran got just a little too feisty, and they sulked into the shadows. On top of that, Trump imposed sanctions, and froze billions in assets for the country, which effectively stopped their ability to both participate in and fund terrorism. But enter President Biden, who then lifted the sanctions, and unfroze all the Iranian money. Two weeks after unfreezing that money, Hamas attacked Israel, which the White House says had no correlation. Which is like saying the sun and heat are not correlated.
So, as Trump gets ready to return to the Oval, Iran is back and ready for fight night round two. National Security Analyst Harry Kazianis says everything Biden has done has just emboldened more danger.
"They weakened sanctions, they handed them billions of dollars in cash...they are still on the ascension," he says.
Trump has already said he plans to bring the hammer down on the Iranians with increased sanctions. But even with that, Tehran still has plenty of money and power to get things done. One of those is building their nuclear arsenal. That will be priority one for Trump, is making sure they do not get their hands on a nuclear weapon.
Iran though, for as much as they have roared back to life, has had its issues. Their economy has been crippled by corruption, and already existing sanctions. Add into that their military being thwarted by Israel, and you have a country that is teetering on the brink. Trump's job is going to be pushing them over the edge.
"Take Iran, take their aspirations and terror threat, stick it in a steel box, and make sure they cannot come out of it," he says.
That is much easier said than done, though, especially with the problems the current administration has created. The billions that were unfrozen has already been spent in fortifying their defense, and nuclear capabilities. Not to mention their ballistic missile capabilities.
For Trump to have success this time, he will need to extend his reach to other nations, and put them in a tough spot too.
"He is really going to have to put a line in the sand, and tell countries, you are either with us, the democracies, or not," says Kazianis. "But, if you want to partner with Iran, and get cheap oil from them, you will not be a friend of the United States anymore. Some countries are going to have to make some difficult choices."
A lot of work needs to be done when Trump steps back into power January 20th. But if he manages to punch Iran in the face once, he can surely do it again.
Photo: Moment RF