The Trump administration has called for "maximum pressure" on Iran for nearly two years, with the aim of causing the terror-sponsoring regime to change its "malign" behavior. The administration has proposed 12 changes that Iran should make to join the family of nations.
Since US President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" policy began in late 2018, inflation in Iran has averaged 45%, the value of the rial (Iran's currency) has fallen by 20%, and its GDP has fallen by 5%.
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During recent protests that broke out in 100 Iranian cities, an estimated 1,000 protesters were killed by the regime. Thousands more were arrested. However, the theocratic totalitarian regime remains in control, as does its worldwide terror organization, which it uses to "export" its messianic Islamist revolution. So what should we do?
The administration's "maximum pressure" campaign is only in its third inning. It's now time to move to the sixth inning, on our way to the ninth.
The United States should engage, contain, and dismantle the worldwide Iranian terror empire. There are numerous options available in this regard for the next year or so. This must be continued until the Iranian regime is bankrupt, an event that could, finally, lead to regime change.
Economically, we should seek to close Iran-backed Hezbollah's narco-terror organization, particularly in Latin America and West Africa. We should cut off worldwide trade with Iran, by telling our trading partners they can deal with us or with Iran, but not both, and cutting off all trade with countries that don't listen.
On the cultural front, as the Belgian government has done, the United States should outlaw Iranian sponsorship of mosques, madrassas, and Islamic centers to prevent Islamist radicalization. Research shows these are terror-related political institutions, rather than religious ones. The same phenomenon has been discovered elsewhere in Europe, where several governments have taken similar actions regarding Saudi-controlled mosques, schools, and Islamic centers. The United States could recommend doing the same in African and Latin American countries.
On the military front, the United States should also move more military assets to the Persian Gulf region, and prepare for a continuous low-level military engagement of the kind Israel is so proficient in. We should employ constant cyberattacks to sabotage and paralyze Iran's nuclear weapons and missile development projects. Within Iran, we should arm the 50% of the population that are not Persians, eventually dividing the nation in half.
Diplomatically, we should strive to throw Iran out of the United Nations for preaching genocide against us.
Eventually, we should set up a war crimes tribunal to investigate Iran's leaders' crimes against humanity, both against the United States and its own citizens.
It's time to turn up the heat to prevent the all-out shooting war that we're heading into if the Iranian regime is not stopped.
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
