The Bild commentator slammed the “anti-U.S. reflex” of the powers that be in Berlin, noting that they have forgotten the role that America played in preserving German freedom during the Cold War and in contributing to the fall of communism.
The most effective means for the United States to counter Iran’s strategy is to intensify the maximum pressure campaign, which is sapping the regime’s strength and depriving it of the resources to expand its regional power and fund its costly nuclear and missile programs. This does not mean the United States should be indifferent to the plight of tens of millions of Iranians. The United States should continue to offer transparently distributed medical assistance that may benefit the victims of the epidemic. Yet easing pressure on the regime would only hand it greater resources with which to continue its malign policies. Fundamental changes in the regime’s behavior, or even a complete change of the political system in Iran, are possible only if the U.S. maximum pressure policy continues.
Meanwhile, Iran, acting through its militia proxies, has recently escalated its attacks and threats against U.S. military, diplomatic, and oil-related facilities. The eruption of a much larger U.S.-Iran armed conflict could supercharge Iraq’s further destabilization.
The Islamic Republic’s rampant corruption and money laundering practices are rooted in a financial structure that runs contrary to IMF rules by operating multiple currency exchange rates. While the IMF allows its members to operate multiple rates temporarily, Tehran relies on its multiple rates as a means of distributing political spoils by granting regime loyalists access to hard currency on favorable terms.