December 9, 2024 | The Wall Street Journal
Tehran May Tempt Trump With Talks
The Islamic Republic is on the ropes, but it could still exploit the threat of rapid nuclear breakout.
December 9, 2024 | The Wall Street Journal
Tehran May Tempt Trump With Talks
The Islamic Republic is on the ropes, but it could still exploit the threat of rapid nuclear breakout.
Excerpt
One of the first things the Syrian rebels did on entering Damascus was to ransack the Iranian Embassy. The Assad dynasty was a pillar of the Islamic Republic’s regional power. In 1980 Hafez al-Assad was the only Arab leader to back Iran in its war with Iraq; his son Bashar later offered Tehran a pathway for dominating the Levant.
Throughout the Middle East, the Islamic Republic is now seen as a serial loser. It has had an annus horribilis. Israel’s demolition of Hamas and Hezbollah—and with them the “axis of resistance” against the Jewish state—surprised Tehran. Israel’s unstoppable air raids and covert operations inside Iran also caught the regime off guard. So, too, did Donald Trump’s comeback. With the downfall of its Syrian ally, Iran’s ruling elite no longer even pretends that the clerical regime is winning in the region.
Mr. Gerecht is a resident scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Mr. Takeyh is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.