In this week's Action Update we focus on Iran, but as the following
indicates, nothing exists in a vacuum. In our interconnected world, how
countries handle one foreign policy challenge (or success) directly
impacts others. We are rapidly approaching a geo-political inflection
point and unfortunately, the Biden administration has not shown itself
to be up to the task. It's not too late for a course correction, but
with each passing day the turn we must take becomes sharper.

The Iran-Russia Mistake

As a result of the Biden administration's desperate attempt to look
like they're doing something on Iran, they're ultimately making
things worse - and not just on that issue. We are presently
negotiating with the world's leading state sponsor of terror and
allowing Russia to serve as the intermediary. That's the same Russia
that has increasingly close ties with Iran (and China for that matter).
And it's the same Russia that is on the verge of a large-scale
invasion of a democratic US ally in Ukraine.

American impotence on Iran has emboldened the strongmen of Moscow and
Tehran. At this point, the Iranians can see their dream scenario on the
horizon: sanctions relief and the ability to become a turn-key nuclear
power. All of this is being done with Russia in the driver's seat of
negotiations with the Islamic Republic and the Biden administration
essentially letting everyone know that the US is just along for the
ride. Given that Tehran is still likely to get everything it wants from
the US, it's no wonder Vladimir Putin thinks he too can get away with
what he wants at minimal cost.

If we are to avoid witnessing a series of international calamities and
the resulting human suffering - stretching from Europe to the Middle
East to east Asia - the Biden administration must internalize the
simple fact that American weakness enables the spread of tyranny, but
the opposite is also true.

The Simple Solution

We are not alone in viewing the Biden administration's path as ending
in disaster. Recently, nearly 200 members of the House of
Representatives sent a letter to President Biden making clear that the
details in the reports coming out of the negotiations with Iran are
unacceptable. In the letter
,
the Members of Congress make abundantly clear that they will work to
thwart any effort that does not produce an agreement with Iran that
benefits the US and yank back the Islamic Republic's dash towards a
nuclear weapons capability.

And as the elected officials note in their missive, the law is on their
side: "We will demand that any such agreement be submitted to Congress
pursuant to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, and we will
use the law's 30-day review period to warn our colleagues, the
American public and the private sector about any dangers and flaws of
such an agreement."

We've been down the road of an

**executive only** agreement with Iran. It was fatally flawed and tossed
in the garbage as soon as there was an occupant of the Oval Office more
interested in achieving tangible results than signing/adhering to
meaningless pieces of paper. The simple solution is for the Biden
administration to change its objective. The end goal shouldn't be an
agreement with Iran. The goal should be putting an end to Iran's
nuclear blackmail. An agreement with Iran could be a means to achieve
that, but such isn't in the offing if the Biden administration
continues to acquiesce to every Iranian demand while ignoring every Arab
and Israeli concern.

The Likely Solution

Speaking of the Arabs and the Israelis, on Monday evening local time,
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett traveled to Bahrain on a historic
visit to the Gulf Arab nation. This visit is another step forward
cementing the importance of the Abraham Accords and comes just a few
months after Bennett visited the United Arab Emirates.

An interesting tidbit of news, that we've no doubt the Iranians are
focused on (as well they should be), is that Israel will likely station
a naval officer to an official post inside Bahrain. This is significant
because, like Israel, Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and several other
Arab nations view Iran as the preeminent threat in the region.

Much has been made of the historic nature of the Abraham Accords and the
economic and cultural possibilities that these agreements enable, and
that is understandably what we all want to focus on. But we should not
forget the importance of the ever-deepening ties between Israel and the
Gulf Arab nations in the context of confronting Iran.

One day, the Abraham Accords may be the linchpin in saving the region
from a nuclear armed radical Islamist state bent on regional domination.
Take note President Biden: that's the kind of agreement worth making.

Sincerely,

CUFI Action Fund Team

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