This is what happens when you cozy up to Iran - opinion

• Published date: 14 April 2024
• Author: SHEILA NAZARIAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

This statement of deterrence from America's president was clearly ineffective, as Iran proceeded to send dozens of drones and cruise missiles into Israel not even twenty-four hours later. Why did the president's words have zero impact on the Islamic Republic's plans, one might ask

The answer should be obvious to anyone who has been following American foreign policy not only during the Biden administration, but also during the administration of his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. The Obama administration ushered in an Iran policy characterized by alternating weakness and support, creating an American-Iranian relationship in which the country was enriched and emboldened rather than meaningfully dissuaded from causing chaos in the region. And the Biden administration picked up right where he started, adopting a stance toward Iran that left the country well-positioned for today's attack.

Just take the administration's attempts to enact a new nuclear deal with the Iranians, in the spirit of the negotiations touted by the Obama regime as a historic accomplishment. The administration defended their spineless policy towards Iran by citing these negotiations, suggesting it was a temporary posture, and that if results weren't coming soon, a tougher policy would soon emerge.

But, as Michael Doran wrote in Tablet last year: "The Islamic Republic has, to name just a few developments, brutally suppressed the worst protests in its history, advanced its nuclear weapons program considerably, pursued plots to murder former American officials on American soil, and developed a defense industrial cooperation with the Russian military…None of these developments managed to try the patience of the Biden administration."

This supine policy even applied to attacks on American forces, which received little to no retaliation. At a Senate hearing in 2023, Senator Tom Cotton questioned Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about Iranian attacks, pointing out that Iran and Iran-backed militias had attacked American forces 83 times, and that the United States had struck back only four times. "What kind of signal do we think this sends to Iran?" asked Cotton at the time. Now, as Iran fires dozens of UAVs into Israel not even a day after Biden encouraged restraint, we see the answer to this question.

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