LOS ANGELES.–Sending a fleet of nine U.S. B-2 Stealth Bombers to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, 78-year old President Donald Trump hopes to send a loud message to Iran’s 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to take disarmament talks seriously in Oman Saturday, April 12. Trump wants the Ayatollah to commit to dismantling his nuclear enrichment program, started generations ago by U.S.-friendly Shah of Iran but eventually falling into mullah hands after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. U.S. technically has no diplomatic relations with Iran and can’t engage in direct talks without mediation, this time by Oman. Trump wants the talks to be direct because he doesn’t want the Ayatollah delaying the inevitable of recognizing the U.S. and Israel will not permit Iran to develop a nuclear bomb. Nuclear experts say Iran has more than enough weapons grade uranium.
Trump clarified that any action taken against Iran’s nuclear enrichment program will be a joint venture with Israel which, more than any other country, is threatened by Iran going nuclear. Iran could easily share its nuclear weapons with terrorist states not concerned about mass casualties for a nuclear strike on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been warning against Iran’s nuclear program since 2014 when former President Barack Obama entered into direct talks with Iran to create the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] AKA the Iranian Nuke Deal. Trump cancelled the deal May 8, 2018 when Iran’s Yemen-based Houthi terror group was at war with Saudi Arabia, firing missiles at Riyadh’s International Airport and Aramco oil refineries. Trump also noted that the JCPOA had no verification provision, prohibiting U.N. weapons inspectors.
So, when it comes to Saturday’s talks, Trump means business, serving notice to the Ayatollah that if he doesn’t take the current talks seriously, Iran will meet the wrath of the U.S. and Israeli militaries. Kremlin officials reacted to Trump’s threats on Tehran, now that Iran and Moscow entered into a strategic alliance, supplying Shahed-136 long-rage drones to Moscow to fight its war in Ukraine. “Indeed, the world is growing tired of the endless threats against Iran,” said Russian Foreign Minister Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “There is a growing understanding that bombing cannot pave the way to peace,” Zakharova said. Trump has been engaged in diplomacy with the Russian Federation, trying reset normal U.S.-Russian relations with 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin would not think favorably of a U.S. bombing mission in Tehran.
Iran denies that it’s working on an A-bomb yet, at the same time, uses its nuclear enrichment program as a bargaining chip with U.S. negotiators. Former Secretary of State John Kerry, who negotiated the JCPOA with former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, pushed for the agreement saying it would delay Iran’s pursuit of weapons grade material. Nuclear experts think in the ensuring years, since Trump cancelled the JCPOA, Iran has created more than enough U-232 to produce several nuclear bombs. So, Iran’s ongoing nuclear program is a real problem for the Trump White House. Iran’s military cooperation with Russia makes any attack on Tehran more personal for Putin, something that could sabotage any peace deal on Ukraine. When it comes to the imminent nature of any attack on Iran, there’s no reason it would happen anytime soon.
Putin doesn’t want a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, so, no matter how much help Iran gives Moscow with Shahed drones, Putin still opposes Iran going nuclear. It’s bad enough for Putin to deal with a nuclear-armed North Korea, something Trump knows all about. Trump was the first and only post-WW II president to visit North Korea as a peace gesture by Kim Jong-un June 30, 2019. Putin will put pressure on the Ayatollah to engage in nuclear talks with Trump or his interlocutors to reduce the chance of Iran developing an A-bomb. Zakharova said she want s “effective negotiable solutions” something consistent with what Putin wants as well. Trump’s knows that normalizing U.S.-Russian relations helps U.S. national security dealing with the Ayatollah since Putin supplies Iran with its S-400 missile defense system. Any help the U.S. gets from Putin is welcomed by Trump.
Former President Joe Biden damaged U.S. foreign policy and national security by funding proxy war with the Kremlin. No matter how much Ukraine needs U.S. and NATO help in its war with the Kremlin, the U.S. has its own national security needs. Turning an historic global partner into a mortal enemy was not good foreign policy by Biden. Trump is trying to clean it all up now, realizing that Putin could be valuable to the U.S. on a host of global issues. Putin could put pressure on the Ayatollah to stop Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. When it comes to Iran’s nuke program, Putin also has a vested interest to stop Iran from producing an A-bomb. Threatening to bomb Iran without linkage to Moscow weakens the U.S. position. For all the war hawks in Congress, they don’t see the damage the Ukraine War does to U.S. foreign policy and national security.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
