RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21672/trump-going-wobbly-on-iran

Uh oh. US President Donald J, Trump has reportedly fired a “slew of pro-Israel officials in America First ‘course correction,'” and that “Trump is looking for an Iran dove to take over as Middle East chief at National Security Council, while pushing for nuclear deal,” according to Middle East Eye.

Iran uses it centrifuges to enrich uranium to high levels. Highly enriched uranium is needed only for nuclear weapons. No highly enriched uranium, no nuclear bombs. Even one uranium-enrichment centrifuge in Iran’s possession is a nuclear weapon waiting to happen.

If the US Congress could please pass a bill as soon as possible preventing the US from allowing centrifuges in Iran, it would be an enormous benefit to US and global security.

Meanwhile, America’s enemies — Russia, China, North Korea and Venezuela — are waiting to see if the US actually has any real backbone before deciding if it is safe for them to go on offense again.

This is not warmongering — it is the last resort when diplomacy fails and survival is on the line. Israel and the US have every right to defend themselves – and the region – against a regime that openly seeks their extermination.

Unfortunately, Trump has repeatedly given Iran reason to bet on that. First, Trump told Hamas in January that they had to deliver all the hostages or “all hell will break out.” When Hamas did nothing of the kind, Trump’s dramatic response was — nothing. Even better, Trump seemed to “throw Israel under the bus.” How perfect!

Then, on March 7, Trump sent Khamenei a letter saying that Iran had two months to dismantle its nuclear program… Hmm. It is now June and Iran has been enriching more uranium than ever. No wonder Iran’s regime assumes it is holding a royal straight flush.

Iran’s regime saw what happened to Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi when he gave up his nuclear arsenal. Iran’s regime saw what happened when Ukraine, thanks to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 – signed by Ukraine, Russia and the US – gave up its nuclear arsenal. The lesson they surely learned was: No nukes, no power. Iran will not voluntarily give up what it must see as its insurance policy for ruling Iran forever.

Uh oh. US President Donald J, Trump has reportedly fired a “slew of pro-Israel officials in America First ‘course correction,'” and that “Trump is looking for an Iran dove to take over as Middle East chief at National Security Council, while pushing for nuclear deal,” according to Middle East Eye.

The threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, however, is no longer a distant concern — it is a rapidly escalating crisis with the most severe and immediate implications for Israel, the oil-rich Sunni Arab Gulf States, and North and South America. Trump appears to be scurrying to back down from “or there will be “all hell to pay,” and is possibly on the verge of letting Iran keep its uranium-enrichment centrifuges. Not an option.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21661/iran-nuclear-agreement
As talks between Washington and Tehran are underway to reach an agreement on Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, even if a deal is reached, unless it features “anywhere, anytime” inspections, to which Iran has never agreed, Iran will secretly continue to develop nuclear weapons and cheat, cheat, cheat.

If such a deal is reached, Iran also is not going to stop its financial and military support for its terror proxies in the Middle East, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthi militia in Yemen. Iran, in short, is not going to abandon its declared goal of obliterating the “Zionist entity” (“the Little Satan”) or the United States (“the Great Satan”).

If Trump is serious about preventing war and bloodshed in the Middle East, he must insist that any agreement with Iran’s mullahs include no centrifuges or uranium enrichment of any kind, and no support for Tehran’s terror proxies.

If something could possibly go wrong, unfortunately it will — leaving Trump with the legacy of delivering yet another laughably fake peace deal and of his presidency being that of another failed Barack Obama.

Trump must also demand that Iran’s leaders stop calling for the annihilation of Israel.

The same is true for the leaders of Qatar, as well Qatar’s personal insults against Trump himself.

The Iranian regime is determined to continue supporting [terrorist leaders] to help them achieve their goal of murdering Jews and eliminating Israel.

“Iran’s openly stated goal is to destroy Israel, but the broader game is its perception of the United States as the ‘Great Satan.’ Iran’s strategy involves orchestrating various terrorist groups in the Middle East, with multifaceted objectives. Firstly, it seeks to dominate the Islamic world in the region, asserting its influence over other nations. Simultaneously, it aims to strike at the credibility of the United States, a long-standing adversary in Iranian foreign policy.” — Shishir Gupta, executive editor, Hindustan Times, April 27, 2023.

The Trump administration would do well to take these issues into consideration before signing any agreement with Iran. Such an agreement, if reached, unfortunately will not mean that the Iranian regime has become America’s friend. As long as the mullahs continue to wish for the destruction of Israel and America, and to back Islamist terror groups, they should be treated as dangerous enemies of both Israel and the US.

It is wrong and unrealistic to assume that Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regime, if and when they sign a nuclear agreement with the Trump administration, would abandon their dream of destroying Israel and America. Pictured: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on as a ‘Qasem Soleimani’ missile is displayed during a military parade in Tehran, on September 21, 2024. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

As talks between Washington and Tehran are underway to reach an agreement on Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, even if a deal is reached, unless it features “anywhere, anytime” inspections, to which Iran has never agreed, Iran will secretly continue to develop nuclear weapons and cheat, cheat, cheat.

If such a deal is reached, Iran also is not going to stop its financial and military support for its terror proxies in the Middle East, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthi militia in Yemen. Iran, in short, is not going to abandon its declared goal of obliterating the “Zionist entity” (“the Little Satan”) or the United States (“the Great Satan”).

US President Donald J. Trump said on May 28 that he believes his administration is “very close to a solution” with Iran on a nuclear agreement. “Right now, I think they want to make a deal,” Trump said. “And if we can make a deal, I’d save a lot of lives.”

These are the main reasons that address why an agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions is not enough.

The Iranian regime’s ongoing effort to acquire nuclear weapons is a huge problem, as are its repeated demands to enrich uranium (whatever could go wrong?) and threats to destroy Israel – especially with Iran’s proxy terror groups that also seek to destroy Israel.

If Trump is serious about preventing war and bloodshed in the Middle East, he must insist that any agreement with Iran’s mullahs include no centrifuges or uranium enrichment of any kind, and no support for Tehran’s terror proxies.

If something could possibly go wrong, unfortunately it will — leaving Trump with the legacy of delivering yet another laughably fake peace deal and of his presidency being that of another failed Barack Obama.

Were it not for Iran’s financial and military support, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and the Houthis would not have been able to fire thousands of rockets, ballistic missiles and explosive drones at Israel over the past 20 months.

Halting or limiting Iran’s uranium enrichment may be a positive development, but what about the hundreds of millions of dollars and the weapons it sends to its terror proxies? The Trump administration must demand an immediate halt to the funding and arming of the Iran-backed Islamist terror groups. Furthermore, it must demand that Iran’s leaders stop calling for the annihilation of Israel.

The same is true for the leaders of Qatar (such as here and here), as well Qatar’s personal insults against Trump himself.

As Trump was voicing optimism regarding the prospects of reaching a nuclear deal with the Iranian regime, Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, received a delegation of Hamas and PIJ officials in Tehran and discussed with them “the latest developments in the region, especially the situation in Palestine and the Gaza Strip.”

Iranian and Palestinian media outlets quoted Velayati as “assuring” the Hamas and PIJ officials that “the Zionist entity is doomed to disappear.” Hamas and PIJ, the second largest Iran-backed terror group in the Gaza Strip, participated in the October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel. At least 1,200 Israelis were murdered and thousands wounded on that day. Another 251 Israelis and foreign nationals were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, where 58 remain in captivity (only 20 are believed to be alive).

Velayati also “affirmed Iran’s solidarity with the [Palestinian] resistance groups and praised the victories of the Palestinian resistance [against Israel] as a rare achievement in the history of Islam,” according to media reports.

The meeting between Velayati and the Hamas and PIJ representatives shows that the Iranian regime has no intention to turn its back on its terror proxies, notwithstanding any possible future nuclear agreement with the US. The opposite is true. Velayati reassured the Palestinian terror leaders that the Iranian regime is determined to continue supporting them, to help them achieve their goal of murdering Jews and eliminating Israel. When the Iranian official talks about the “resistance,” he is referring to terrorism against Israel, including the October 7 massacre.

Velayati’s talk about the destruction of the “Zionist entity” shows that the Iranian regime does not intend to abandon its dream of wiping Israel off the map, and the US as well.

In the past few years, Khamenei has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel and America. He was also quick to praise the October 7 massacre as a “logical and legal” action.

It is wrong and unrealistic to assume that Khamenei and his regime, if and when they sign a nuclear agreement with the Trump administration, would abandon their dream of destroying Israel and America. The previous nuclear agreement the Iranian regime signed with the Obama administration in 2015 did not stop the mullahs in Tehran from providing financial and military aid to the Islamist terror groups in the Middle East. That agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also did not see Iran’s leaders change their minds about destroying Israel.

Iran’s support for the Palestinian terror groups, Hezbollah and the Houthi militia has brought death and destruction on Palestinians, Lebanese and Yemenis. Iran’s regime is a threat not only to Israel, but also to the US.

“Iran’s openly stated goal is to destroy Israel, but the broader game is its perception of the United States as the ‘Great Satan,'” wrote Shishir Gupta, executive editor of the Hindustan Times, in April 2023.

“Iran’s strategy involves orchestrating various terrorist groups in the Middle East, with multifaceted objectives. Firstly, it seeks to dominate the Islamic world in the region, asserting its influence over other nations. Simultaneously, it aims to strike at the credibility of the United States, a long-standing adversary in Iranian foreign policy.”

The Trump administration would do well to take these issues into consideration before signing any agreement with Iran. Such an agreement, if reached, unfortunately will not mean that the Iranian regime has become America’s friend. As long as the mullahs continue to wish for the destruction of Israel and America, and to back Islamist terror groups, they should be treated as dangerous enemies of both Israel and the US.

Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.

https://quadrant.org.au/news-opinions/middle-east/315166/

Now, we’re not saying the $400 million plane offered to Donald Trump by Qatar is a Trojan Horse. But we’re not not saying it, either.

Let’s just say, if it walks like a horse, costs more than the GDP of Tonga, and comes with gold taps and suspiciously diplomatic aftershave, maybe, just maybe, you shouldn’t park it in your metaphorical garage without a quick X-ray scan and a chat with Homeland Security.

Because Qatar, lovely little peninsula that it is, has had, well, connections. Not the “Let’s-network-over-hummus” kind, but the “hosts-the-Hamas-leadership-in-Doha” kind. Yes. Since 2012. Back when kale was just becoming a thing. They rolled out the plush carpets for Khaled Mashal, and later welcomed Ismail Haniyeh with open arms, an espresso, and possibly a beachfront view. That is, until his death in 2024 (Haniyeh’s, not the espresso’s). Qatar’s been called Hamas’s most generous foreign backer, which is quite the résumé line, even by Middle Eastern standards.

So when Qatar offers a US President a flying palace, you have to ask, Why?

Because it’s not exactly standard gift-giving protocol. It’s not a Montblanc pen. It’s not even a Cartier watch. It’s a jet. With bedrooms. And offices. And probably a button labelled “Espionage Lite.”

Still, one could argue that any self-respecting world leader with a Davos calendar and a penchant for dramatic entrances might fancy arriving in a jet that screams “Bond villain chic.” And maybe, just maybe, they assumed Donald wouldn’t notice the strings.

But let’s pause here and consider the man himself. This is the same Donald Trump who, on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, was famously filmed not drinking the beverage handed to him. Possibly because he suspected poison. Possibly because it was coconut water. But either way, the man has his limits. After the attempt on his life (which, to be fair, would put most of us off sharing baba ghanouj), you’d think he’d employ a full-time taster by now. Or at least travel with a few tins of Trump Tower-endorsed baked beans, Shane Warne-style.

So why take the jet?

Has he not heard of the Trojan Horse? Surely Melania’s explained the general idea of history. At the very least, someone must’ve mentioned the Soviet Spy Seal?

https://amgreatness.com/2025/05/31/on-congressional-and-corporate-collusion-with-the-prc/

As an American citizen and a Michigan resident opposed to communist China’s subnational incursions into our country, specifically, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), generally, I was both heartened and saddened by Steve Cortes’s May 22nd American Greatness article, “Don’t Fund Chinese Companies in the Tax Bill.”

I was heartened because a strong proponent of American workers and religious freedom once more warned against the suicidal insanity of corporate and political elites economically empowering a genocidal communist regime engaged in unrestricted warfare against our nation with the express intent of destroying the “hegemon” and, further, the rules-based international order. So, too, Mr. Cortes did his part to help pierce the corporate media’s muted coverage of how my home state of Michigan is a regrettable example of American elites’ prioritizing corporate and government revenues over America’s national security.

Mr. Cortes begins by citing the strategic threats posed by the PRC’s access to our economy and government:

“First, it compromises our industrial base because threats of espionage and sabotage follow those acquisitions and capital flows… Second, granting access to U.S. markets grants legitimacy and financial power to one of the most brutal and repressive regimes on earth, one that grows increasingly blunt in its anti-American posture. America should not be in the business of financing an enemy.”

His logic is eminently sound, as is his analysis of both the pending tax bill:

“Now, the new reconciliation bill, deemed the “Big Beautiful Bill,” just passed in the House—and it fails to fix loopholes created by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). As this legislation moves to the Senate, it leaves the window open for Chinese companies to benefit from massive U.S. tax credits, specifically the 45x Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit, an uncapped incentive program for certain manufacturing projects.”

His solution is eminently sensible:

As a first step, the Senate must mandate no U.S. tax credits to any PRC-affiliated companies. None. Moving further, they should stop PRC companies from further infiltrating America’s industrial base and block U.S. companies from working domestically with any company listed by the Department of Defense as a Chinese Military Company or that is considered a foreign entity of concern.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21655/iran-duping-trump-with-iaea-inspections-what

Iran knows exactly what it is doing. It is playing a game it has mastered for decades: stall, confuse, buy time, bring in the well-intentioned but toothless International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). All the regime needs to win the negotiations is to entrench enforceability and retain the ability to work in secret down the pike.

Iran could, at any moment, declare itself part of the nuclear weapons club. The mullahs could also negotiate a deal that grants them partial sanctions relief, re-entry into the global financial system, and access to international trade — all while keeping key parts of their nuclear program intact.

Giving Iran any daylight to enrichment is not diplomacy — it is surrender.

US President Donald Trump seems shocked that he is being duped by the superstar of KGB (now the FSB) whose entire purpose is to dupe Americans and the West: You mean he is not really my good friend Volodya? Russian President Vladimir Putin has not gone crazy; we were crazy for believing him. The same holds true for Communist China’s President Xi Jinping.

Iran does not want “peace.” Iran wants victory. Why don’t we? The only “peace” Iran is interested in is one strictly on its terms. With nuclear weapons, there will be “peace,” all right — the Iranian regime’s survival, power and domination — that kind of peace.

Meanwhile, Trump’s “deadlines” with Hamas and Iran have come and gone, thoroughly eroding his credibility with Putin, Xi, Kim, NATO and everyone else. There have been no consequences, no accountability and no results.

This is not about compromise or Munich 2.0. This is about survival. Ours, not theirs. Stop being played.

Once again, the United States has sat down with Iran for yet another round of nuclear negotiations — this time the fifth. And once again, we are told that there will be another round in the “near future.” Sound familiar? It should. Iran’s cat-and-mouse diplomatic theater is not a breakthrough; it is a rerun. Just as the past rounds, this latest episode concluded without any meaningful agreement, while Iran continues to advance in its nuclear program, intercontinental ballistic missiles — not needed to attack Israel — and rebuild its air defense.

Iran knows exactly what it is doing. It is playing a game it has mastered for decades: stall, confuse, buy time, bring in the well-intentioned but toothless International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). All the regime needs to win the negotiations is to entrench enforceability and retain the ability to work in secret down the pike.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21657/selling-weapons-to-qatar

While it is understandable that President Donald Trump is eager to bring business deals to America, since when has Qatar been “a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East”? The answer is: Never.

“Qatar is the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world, more than Iran.” — Dr. Udi Levy, a former senior official of Israel’s Mossad spy agency who dealt with economic warfare against terrorist organizations, Ynet News, April 18, 2024.

There is hardly an Islamic terrorist group, in fact, that Qatar does not support. Meanwhile, it acts as both the arsonist and the firefighter.

“Qatar has been playing a deadly double game with the U.S. for many years. It supports all Islamist terrorist organizations (ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Hamas, and Hezbollah). Worst of all, in 1996, it hid future 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) in Doha, and when the FBI came to arrest him, informing only the Qatari Emir, KSM disappeared within hours.” — Yigal Carmon, MEMRI, November 15, 2023.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s “Explanatory Memorandum” explicitly states: “The Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

Qatar’s media empire, Al Jazeera, is the mouthpiece for the Muslim Brotherhood. It is this Arabic-language television network that has spread the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood throughout much of the world. Even Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which agree on virtually nothing, both banned Al Jazeera – as have Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain.

When the US sells advanced weapons to Qatar, it is literally arming an organization that openly funds terrorism, spreads radical Islamic ideology and straightforwardly seeks to undermine America, Israel and the West.

The Trump administration, in seeking to make America great again, was supposed to move away from the policies of the Obama and Biden administrations, which appeased terrorist and rogue states such as Iran and Russia. But regarding Qatar, the Trump administration appears to be pursuing effectively the same extremely dangerous policies that endanger not only US allies in the Middle East such as Israel, but the United States itself.

“[US] colleges and universities have accepted $6.25 billion from Qatar since 2001. However, Qatar’s total spending likely exceeds that figure… Qatar is a major exporter of Islamist ideology, which it amplifies on the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera network. By pumping money into the American higher education system and across the United States, Qatar avoids scrutiny as it advances hostile ideologies.” — Natalie Ecanow, of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, in testimony to the Texas Legislature House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs, April 2, 2025.

A good place to start would be not to sell weapons to Qatar and not to pretend they are a friendly ally. Instead, the US should start looking for an alternate place, such as the United Arab Emirates, to relocate American forces from Qatar’s Al-Udeid Air Base.

The Trump administration will apparently sell Qatar a large weapons package, including eight long-range maritime surveillance drones and hundreds of missiles and bombs worth around $2 billion. A document from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, notifying Congress of the initially approved sale, stated:

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.

https://quadrant.org.au/news-opinions/america/when-doubts-take-wing/

EXCERPT

I am an unabashed supporter of Trumpian policies. However, as a conservative, my allegiance is to the truth so far as I can find it. I have had no problem squaring the two until Trump’s Middle Eastern soiree.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of Trumpian policies, which are truly embraceable by those like me with a conservative mindset.

♦ Immigration: namely, closing the southern border, deporting criminal illegal immigrants, opposing birthright citizenship.

♦ Economic: namely, cutting wasteful government expenditure, lowering taxes, reducing regulations, imposing selective tariffs.

♦ Social: namely, ridding America of DEI and transgender activism (or trying to), defunding universities which promote or tolerate anti-Semitic thuggery, preventing social media platforms from censoring free speech.

♦ Foreign: namely, supporting Israel to the hilt, trying to end the slaughter in Ukraine, encouraging NATO members to stump up more for their own defense.

Now, suddenly, unwelcomely, I have my first significant qualms. This is not just to prove Bolt wrong, which he most definitely is, but as a reminder that human failings miss no one, not even Trump in his pomp.

First the plane from Qatar. It is quite silly beyond belief to think that this can take the place of Air Force One or Two and then form part of Trump’s presidential library when his term ends. The timing doesn’t work for a start. Boeing hasn’t delivered on a new plane precisely because of the complications of making a passenger plane into a presidential plane with all its additional features. As for the library part, the mind boggles. Maybe the plane could be converted into a troop carrier. Does the US need a troop carrier from Qatar?

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21647/trump-russia-ukraine-conflict

Far from helping to end the war in Ukraine, all the indications suggest that US President Donald Trump’s mediation efforts are not only prolonging the conflict, but increasing the likelihood that Russia will ultimately emerge victorious.

Indeed, far from showing any interest in ending Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine, the Russian leader has given every intention that he intends to continue fighting until victory has been achieved.

Nor does there appear to be any serious prospect that Trump will be willing to hit the Kremlin with further sanctions, let alone military encouragement, if it fails to show any serious interest in peace negotiations.

The problem with Trump’s hands-off approach to the Ukraine conflict is that it could ultimately prove counterproductive for the US and its allies, as the more Washington indicates it is losing interest in the conflict, the more encouraged Moscow becomes that it will ultimately achieve victory.

This outcome would be a disaster for the entire Nato alliance — including the US, which would see its extensive trade ties with Europe threatened by Russian aggression.

In addition, Trump walking away from the conflict would be seen worldwide as a green light to other US adversaries, such as Iran and China, that it is open season, as the US is not serious about defending any allied territory.

As someone who shows a keen interest in expanding America’s trade ties, Trump of all people should understand the disastrous implications another Putin-inspired war would have for the US economy.

Far from helping to end the war in Ukraine, all the indications suggest that US President Donald Trump’s mediation efforts are not only prolonging the conflict, but increasing the likelihood that Russia will ultimately emerge victorious.

Trump’s pledge to end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office now seems but a distant memory.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21644/iran-death-to-america

“When you chant ‘Death to America!’ it is not just a slogan – it is a policy.” — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Channel 1 (Iran), November 1, 2023.

What did Iran do with this windfall of billions in cash and at least $100 billion in unfrozen assets received during Obama’s term? They funneled the money into Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, the regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and a sprawling regional terror network. Iran enriched uranium and built long-range ballistic missiles — some with a range far beyond what is needed to attack Israel. Iran expanded its influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Venezuela — all while promising America’s destruction with renewed fervor.

The dangerous reality is that while the United States continues to dangle olive branches, Iran continues to rebuild its air defense systems and enlarge up its ballistic missile arsenal for future attacks.

Like Russia’s and China’s, Iran’s is not a regime seeking peace.

The willingness of many American foreign policy elites to believe that everyone can be “brought in from the cold” is what continues to place the U.S. in constant danger. The cruel fact is that the China, Russia and Iran have different goals than the United States. The US and Trump want peace and prosperity. China, Russia and Iran do not give a flying lawbook about their citizens; they want conquest

We are not victims of Iran’s deception; we are victims of our own delusions.

[E]very time a new U.S. president takes office, the same tired fantasy sprouts up: “This time, it will be different.” No, it will not. The regime has not changed. We keep forgetting, and keep hoping that if we are nice enough or bribe them enough, or if they bribe us enough, they will give up their dreams of an Islamist empire.

America, and especially Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and all Congress need to wake up and acknowledge that the U.S. cannot find peace through isolationism, and that Iran, Russia and China will not be America’s partners in peace.

Since the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, its regime has operated with one unshakable and unwavering ideological mission: to defy, destabilize and ultimately destroy the influence and presence of the United States and its allies, especially Israel. This is not speculation. It is in the slogans shouted in their streets, in the sermons delivered by their clerics, and in the laws enshrined in their constitution.

Iran’s constitution explicitly declares its goal to export the Islamic Revolution beyond its borders. Jihad is not merely permitted — it is prescribed.