The Biden administration's appeasement policies towards the ruling mullahs of Iran are empowering their Islamist and radical regime in the region, all while undermining America's democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel.
As the Iranian regime continues to sponsor, fund and arm terror groups on the borders of Israel, the Biden Administration is carefully looking the other way.
According to Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi, a former deputy commander of the Israel Defense Forces' Gaza Division, "For the last year and a half, Iran stated clearly that its main strategy is to make the Samaria region another Gaza." The Iranians, he added, are "pouring money and smuggling weapons into the region. They are supporting Hamas and the PIJ [Palestinian Islamic Jihad] and other factions within the Palestinian Authority."
Under the Biden administration, the US sanctions are not hurting Iran's economy any longer or cutting off the flow of funds to Tehran. The ruling mullahs are now producing more oil and selling it at levels close to the pre-sanctions era to countries such as China, which desperately needs more oil, while the Biden administration has cut off US oil exploration.
Thanks to the Biden administration's reluctance to enforce US sanctions, the Iranian regime is most likely using the extra revenues to fund and arm terror groups across the Middle East. "Why," the Wall Street Journal's editorial board asked, "does President Biden go out of his way to snub, criticize and give marching orders to the government of Israel?"
"At least rhetorically, the President and his Administration treat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his governing coalition worse than they do the ruling mullahs in Iran. The effect of this piling on is for Israelis to see that the U.S. sides with their opposition parties. This is no way to treat a democratically and no way to pursue U.S. interests while Mr. Netanyahu's Likud Party is in power, as it has been for most of the past 25 years."
The Islamist regime of Iran has repeatedly made its policy clear: it wants Israel to be wiped off the map. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who enjoys the final say in all of Iran's domestic and foreign policies, proclaimed to the youths of Iran that they will soon witness the demise of Israel and all of American civilization. This announcement was confirmed on the Supreme Leader's official website.
Khamenei also made Iran's intentions clear while meeting with students in 2019, declaring:
"You young people should be assured that you will witness the demise of the enemies of humanity, meaning the degenerate American civilization, and the demise of Israel".
The commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami, also made the strategy of the Iranian government vehemently clear by stating, "Our strategy is to erase Israel from the global political map. And, it seems that, considering the evil that Israel is doing, it is bringing itself closer to that."
In addition, Khamenei posted a Twitter tirade attacking Israel, and stating that "the Zionist regime will perish in the not so far future."
More than 19 Iranian regime-backed groups that are targeting Israel and US interests in the region meet the U.S. "terror designation criteria," according to Joe Truzman, in the report, "Iran and its Network of Nineteen Terrorist Organizations on Israel's Borders". The Biden Administration, however, has not added them to the list of foreign terror groups.
"Over the last four decades, the Iranian regime has built a network of armed groups on Israel's borders to create instability and foment terrorism. Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and a mosaic of other terrorist organizations receive funding, training and weapons from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force (IRGC-QF). FDD's Long War Journal has monitored the buildup of Iran-backed terrorist organizations on key fronts: Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria. Israel has worked to limit the growth of these terrorist organizations, but they remain a significant threat on multiple fronts."
What is mind-boggling is that the Biden Administration criticizes Israel but then turns a blind eye to Iran's military buildup near Israel's borders -- all while Iran fires missiles into Israel from Syria, ships ballistic missiles to Israel's self-declared enemy, Hezbollah, and continues to threaten exterminating Israel down the pike.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
