Pardon our bluntness, but the effort to contend with Iran’s
malevolence is not going particularly well. In order for Tehran’s
behavior to be addressed, Washington must take a comprehensive approach
to the Iranian threat. Unfortunately, while the Biden Administration has
made some steps in the right direction, their overall foreign policy
betrays a weakness to which our allies and adversaries are reacting.
We’ll start with the good news, but don’t get your hopes up.

**U.S. – Israel Continue to Train**

On Sunday, the U.S. Air Force commenced Exercise Red Flag, a two-week
air combat training  exercise that the Air Force holds periodically. In
the past, NATO allies have participated in Red Flag training, and Israel
will be participating in this one.

According to the Israeli military, the exercise will focus on,
“Strategic attack in depth, achieving aerial superiority in space,
joint attack aircraft, defense of field cells, interception of enemy
aircraft, low-altitude flight and attack in unfamiliar terrain rich in
anti-aircraft defenses.”

Put another way, the U.S. and Israel are practicing for a potential
confrontation with Iran. As recent Action Updates have noted, there have
been several joint exercises with U.S. allies in the Middle East as of
late, and they all send Tehran an important signal.

The Administration however too often undermines itself when it continues
to entertain the notion that Iran would negotiate away their nuclear
program or worse yet pressure our European allies to hold off on key
sanctions like designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Which
is all to say that there’s more to this, and it isn’t good.

**China Brings Saudi Arabia and Iran Together**

Generally speaking, when two Middle Eastern rivals bury the hatchet (or
at least set it down for a bit), it’s the U.S. that plays a central
role in the détente. But American foreign policy has been weak in the
Middle East for years, which has allowed Russia and China to step into
the vacuum.

China is singularly concerned with the protection of its very thirsty
energy needs and projecting economic power in the region. As such,
they’ve been cozying up a bit to Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi, for its
part, doesn’t seem to place a lot of trust in the Biden
administration. Engagement with Riyadh since President Biden took office
has been awkward to say the least.  We get it, Saudi Arabia is on a
slow path towards progress, but it is still run by an authoritarian
regime, so getting along with the Saudis is a bit uncomfortable for the
White House. But feelings and comfort levels are less relevant to
international politics.

The U.S. left an opening for Beijing to play a greater role in the
region, and China seized the opportunity. The result is that Iran and
Saudi Arabia are reopening their embassies in each other’s countries
amongst other steps aimed to lowering tensions between the two. This is
a big deal and there is robust debate over its impact on both Israel and
the US, but it is unlikely to change the underlying currents. Riyadh and
Tehran still despise each other because the latter would like to destroy
the former. For now, however, the Chinese brokered thaw between Saudi
Arabia and Iran should at least serve as a wakeup call to the White
House: Washington cannot ignore its allies concerns and expect them not
to take actions which the White House might not like. That’s just as
true for Israel as it is for Saudi.

**Rep. Claudia Tenney on the CUFI Weekly**

Covering Iran’s aggression in the region and continued efforts by
Iranian citizens to end the tyrannical rule under which they live, this
past week CUFI’s Kasim Hafeez interviewed Rep. Claudia Tenney
(R-NY-23) about the Iranian threat and the role the U.S. should be
playing in confronting Iran’s dictators and supporting Iran’s
protestors.

On the protests in Iran, Rep. Tenney said, “We’re seeing the first
real opportunity that we have to give the citizens of Iran the
opportunity to create their own government and have peace, prosperity
and freedom.”

But, she went onto note, “Unfortunately, I think the Biden
administration has been relatively quiet about doing something – just
taking extra steps I think they could take to really push us to the
point where we could do something.” 

We agree wholeheartedly with Rep. Tenney’s assessment. The Iranian
regime is on the brink of both developing nuclear weapons and being
rocked to its core by the will of the people. It’s time for the U.S.
to put its thumb on the scale and influence the outcome of events in
Iran in such a way as to ensure the Persian people get their country
back and the Middle East is rid of the Iranian menace. The full
interview is worth watching; you can check it out here
<[link removed]>. 

When it comes to Iran, there have been a lot of good news/bad news
Action Updates, and obviously this one is no different. We’re pleased
the Biden administration has finally come to the realization – as
least ostensibly – that if you want peace you need to at least look
like you are preparing for war. We’re just hoping that it’s not a
case of too little, too late.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team <https:[link removed]>

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