On Iran, the U.S. Needs Handshakes and an Iron Fist

Even people who didn't vote for Obama hoped that he could make diplomacy work. But gentle persuasion is never going to sway people like Khamenei. It takes two to tango, and the world's rogues have other priorities. What they saw in Obama's desire for engagement was that he was essentially giving up on transforming these regimes or even holding them accountable for their transgressions. Iran's rulers believe they have the power, the money, and the organs of state arrayed on their side. They see no need to be open to outsiders; they have not the slightest inclination to unclench their fists. Obama's agenda of engagement with Iran will have to be put on hold, or else we risk increasing Iranian legitimacy, embarrassing the United States, diminishing our credibility, and undermining the confidence of our regional allies in American leadership.

Ayatollah Khamenei, whose authority enforces the radical Islamic nature of Iran's leadership, has done us all a favor by revealing what kind of government his country will have as long as he is around. Iran will clearly continue to be the most active state-sponsor of terrorism, meddling malevolently around the world. It will continue to support and fund Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, Hezbollah, Iraqi-based militants, Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, and radicals in the Sudan, as well as radical Islamists and anti-American allies and surrogates all through the Middle East and, indeed, even beyond. Iran's destructive involvement in the Middle East is the biggest impediment to reigniting the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The danger is clear and present: If a covert convoy of Iranian missiles had not been bombed by Israel but had ended up in Gaza, Hamas could have put virtually all of Israel within accurate range of lethal missiles, making an all-out regional war unavoidable.

The Iranian dream is of a bloc of Muslim states led by a nuclear Iran to challenge America's power, the Sunni Arab states, and, of course, Israel's existence. The nightmare of the Arab world is a grand plan, concocted by the Iranians, to penetrate Arab countries and spread networks of sleeper cells to carry out terrorist attacks and assassinations and provoke violent clashes between the street demonstrators and local security forces—all with the idea of destabilizing Sunni Arab countries. Witness the discovery of a Hezbollah terrorist cell in Egypt. Saudi Arabia fears Iran will challenge it as the regional leader. Egyptian officials say that Qatar has fallen into Iran's trap, with al Jazeera becoming a mouthpiece for the Iranians. The Palestinian cause is already subject to a hostile takeover bid by Iran and its clients, a testimony to the weakness of Arab rulers in other states. Jordan's King Abdullah has also warned of Iran's plan to extend the tentacles of terrorism to Lebanon, to seize critical points of power in Iraq, and to use Sudan as a base for sending thousands of terrorists into Egypt and Saudi Arabia. As for Israel, the aim is to put it between Hezbollah's hammer to the north and Hamas's anvil to the south.

The consequences of an Iranian nuclear arsenal would be catastrophic. It would enable Tehran to spread the Islamic revolution without pressing a button, since the threat of a nuclear weapon is an incredible force multiplier, even a game changer. Who will stop a nuclear Iran from swallowing or dominating its energy-rich neighbors?

And that is only for starters. Iran also aims to get into a position where it can control the lifeblood of the industrialized world. Ahmadinejad, along with Syrian President Bashar Assad, recently declared in Damascus that the time of the West is over and that a new world order is emerging.

The mostly Sunni Arab regimes confronted by an Iranian Shiite domination will feel compelled to seek their own nuclear insurance, creating a Middle East nuclear arms race and ending, as a pratical matter, the credibility of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. If Iran is allowed to continue on its nuclear course, the Saudis will conclude America cannot stop Tehran. They are already concerned that extending a hand to Iran will entrench Iran as a Middle East power while failing to end its nuclear program.