January 9, 2026 | The Wall Street Journal
How Trump Makes Good on His Threat to Iran
As with Venezuela, he can order the seizure of tankers carrying oil in violation of sanctions.
January 9, 2026 | The Wall Street Journal
How Trump Makes Good on His Threat to Iran
As with Venezuela, he can order the seizure of tankers carrying oil in violation of sanctions.
Excerpt
President Trump has warned Tehran that Washington is “locked and loaded” if the regime slaughters peaceful protesters. Iran is calling his bluff. With at least 42 confirmed dead, the president’s warning is now a policy test. Will America enforce its red lines?
Mr. Trump has proved he isn’t Barack Obama on Iran policy. Whereas President Obama made a nuclear deal enriching Tehran’s theocrats, Mr. Trump withdrew from that flawed agreement and pursued a sanctions strategy robbing the regime of oil revenue. When Iranians took to the streets starting in 2017, unlike Mr. Obama in 2009, Mr. Trump offered robust political support to protesters and torpedoed the conventional wisdom in Washington that doing so would be the kiss of death.
Mr. Ghasseminejad is a senior Iran and financial economics adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Mr. Ben Taleblu is FDD’s Iran program senior director.