How should Iran be handled?

Reagan’s Big Lesson for Handling Iran

President Trump’s upcoming decision on whether to renew temporary waivers for US sanctions against Iran is typically being framed as a simple choice between keeping or killing the nuclear deal. But keeping the deal shouldn’t preclude the United States from backing the protesters in Iran—and putting significant pressure on Tehran. Just look to Ronald Reagan’s example, write Richard Goldberg and Dennis Ross for Politico Magazine.

President Reagan “successfully negotiated a major arms control agreement with the Soviet Union—all while publicly calling it an ‘evil empire,’ building up America’s strategic deterrence, promoting regime change and applying economic pressure tied to the Soviet record on human rights,” they write.

“Iranian protesters are making a statement and we should not ignore it. The president would be well within his rights under the JCPOA and international law to follow Reagan’s example and answer them with action. Just as the Iranian regime feels free to spread its power and reach within the region notwithstanding the JCPOA, so should the United States and Europe feel free to impose sanctions tied to human rights, terror and missiles notwithstanding the same.”

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