Al-Arab, London, August 28
Even if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the election and enters the White House, it is unlikely that he will restore [former president Barack] Obama’s old policies on Iran. It is clear today beyond any reasonable doubt that Iran is on the path of building nuclear weapons. Indeed, the Iranian nuclear program is clearly designed for military purposes, not civilian ones. Anyone claiming otherwise is lying. Iran dreams of possessing a lethal weapon in order to establish itself as a regional hegemon and to enable itself to continue in its quest for regional domination. The money handed over to the Iranian regime as a part of the nuclear deal was directly funneled into expanding its weapons capabilities and funding its militias around the Arab world. The United States seems to have finally come to terms with this reality. Following the Obama era, US policymakers are now seeing Iran’s true colors. They understand that the only thing the nuclear deal achieved was a slowdown in Iran’s race for the bomb, not the elimination of its nuclear program. Iran is still determined to possess the bomb, which is what the countries that are still adhering to the nuclear agreement know. Israel also helped reveal this danger. Iran’s efforts to expand its program in new sites prompted the Israeli military to conduct direct strikes against various facilities in Iran, whether through raids or covert action. The Iranians believe that the sanctions against them are linked to the presence of Donald Trump in the White House and that once he is removed and a Democratic president is elected to replace him, those sanctions will be lifted. And because the Iranians believe in their ability to deceive, they hope the aggressive blockade on them will end as soon as Biden wins. This reveals their fundamental misunderstanding of politics and their inability to grasp how democratic countries operate. Yes, it is true that Barack Obama’s personal worldview played a big role in his decision to appease and pacify Iran. However, it is also true that Obama was surrounded by a battery of advisers and experts who closely studied how Tehran responded to sticks and carrots. The next Democratic president will not be another Obama – simply because the political apparatus surrounding him won’t allow him to be one. What is most ironic about the Iranian nuclear issue is that the Iranian regime, represented by its cunning foreign minister, Muhammad Javad Zarif, has never even bothered denying its ambition. Zarif repeatedly talks about his country’s desire to have nuclear weapons to defend itself. It is almost unfathomable that the Europeans refuse to listen to these statements, hoping instead to “protect” the peaceful Iran they have constructed in their imaginations. Time and again, European leaders have failed to deal with Iran’s violations of the agreement in a serious manner. Instead, they encourage Iran to continue with its dangerous behavior. Thankfully, more and more countries are beginning to understand that the American fear was right all along. Iran is the biggest threat to global peace and security today. – Farouk Youssef (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)