Trump's comeback poses challenges for Iran

DW ^ | 11/8/2024 | Shabnam von Hein

[marcusmaximus]

As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House after scoring a spectacular victory in the US presidential election, Iranians wonder what his second term could mean for their country.

The results of the "elections are an opportunity to review and revise the wrong approaches of the past," Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, according to Iranian media.

"We have very bitter experiences with the policies and approaches of different US governments in the past," Baghaei said.

Relations between the United States and Iran have been extremely tense for nearly four decades.

Sources of contemporary tension include Iran's nuclear program, as well as US support for Iran's archenemy, Israel.

During his first term, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the international nuclear agreement with Iran and slapped tough sanctions on the regime.

Trump said he wanted to negotiate a "better deal" than the one concluded by the US administration under President Barack Obama.

In January 2020, Trump ordered the killing of Qasem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, an elite unit that handles Tehran's overseas operations — and one deemed to be a foreign terrorist organization by the US.

[Publius]

The mullahs can save themselves a lot of trouble by resigning and fleeing the country.

[4yearlurker]

Fox news is now reporting that the FBI has foiled a assassination attempt on President Trump. The story is all over the place with Fox saying the would be assassin is still at large.

[Olog-hai]

Then it wasn’t foiled. Typical FIB.

[noiseman]

Sanctions alone won’t do it this time around. Despite his determination to avoid getting into new wars, and get out of the existing ones (especially Ukraine), we and Israel have been gifted a unique window of opportunity this time to get rid of the mullahs once and for all. Doing so will enable the people of Iran to take back their country, and likely chart a much more pro-western course, and will also strengthen relationships with Arab governments in the region who want the mullahs gone even more than we do.

This is not at all analogous to what happened with Saddam and Iraq, so should not receive the knee-jerk “not our problem” reaction. If Iran continues to develop nukes and fund terrorists we will all suffer the consequences at some point. We have a golden opportunity to prevent that with the approval of surrounding Arab governments. We must not neglect that chance.

[popdonnelly]

Good. That regime is destabilizing the entire Middle East. If the mullahs were gone, nobody but terrorist gangs would cry.

[piasa]

Farhad Shakeri