Iran Remains the Chief Obstacle to Peace in the Middle East

In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Crucially, He never said it was going to be easy – which is why, even given all the progress made toward peace for Israel made by President Trump, the struggle continues.

Whether through the Abraham Accords in 2020 or the tremendous feat of building the coalition of Muslim partners that achieved the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal last October, President Trump has done more to advance the prospects for Middle Eastern peace than any of his predecessors. Those accomplishments alone are tremendous.

Yet achieving a final settlement has proven elusive. Despite hopes that the final phase of the President’s Comprehensive Peace Plan could be on the verge of a major breakthrough, Hamas’ unwillingness to disarm made it impossible for Israel to accept the Board of Peace’s most recent proposal. It’s easy to understand why. The fact is, as long as Hamas and other Iranian proxies like Hezbollah continue to receive money from their patrons in Tehran, they’re going to keep doing what they’ve always done: try to destroy Israel. Ultimately, peace in the Middle East can only be attained by destroying the Iranian regime’s military capabilities and its capacity to project power.

Defeating Iran was never just about neutralizing the threat of the Iranian nuclear program; it’s tied to a broader strategy of breaking this evil dictatorship’s ability to wreak havoc throughout the region and the wider world. As long as the Islamic Republic – however battered – is able to survive, it will put all its energy and resources into rebuilding those capabilities and will use the same blackmail tactics we’re seeing in the Strait of Hormuz to regain its foothold as a regional power. Continued support for proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis is critical to that strategy.

At the moment, the Iranian regime is playing for time, confident that it can keep stringing us along until the midterm elections, in the hopes that the Democrats will take control of Congress and compel the Administration to say “uncle.” But they are also testing us – continuing to use the Houthis to pressure U.S. allies, disrupting shipping in the Strait, and issuing absurd maximalist demands.

Why? In part, because attacking America is the Islamic Republic’s raison d’etre; without the twin goals of destroying the U.S. and Israel, the regime loses its ideological legitimacy and will to survive.

But there are also very practical reasons for pushing the boundaries of what the U.S. will tolerate.  They want to see how much they can get away with and push forward the baseline for renewed negotiations on more favorable terms. They also need to recapture badly damaged prestige within the region and the wider world so that their survival is seen as a fait accompli, and other powers will bring Tehran in from the cold. And finally, they must project strength to the Iranian people – many of whom loathe the regime – in order to cement domestic control. 

Yet as much as the Islamic Republic may be emboldened, it is also in dire straits. Iran’s political leadership is fractured, its military capacity has been curtailed, and the region has been reshaped by American resolve. Make no mistake: Sustained pressure requires a serious investment in resources and military commitments from the United States, all of which are costly and involve real dangers. But the peace that the President is working to achieve can never be realized if we do not win this fight against the region’s prime malefactor.

In his landmark speech to Israel’s Knesset last October, President Trump said, “Generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better . . . it will be the golden age of Israel, and the golden age of the Middle East.” That outcome is entirely achievable – provided we have the will to see this fight through.

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