The fourth round of talks concluded last weekend between the United States and Iran, and the world is at a critical juncture. Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, is weakened and cornered. The United States is currently in “expert-level” talks with Iran regarding its nuclear program, but this apparent opening comes with danger. This is not the time for diplomatic daydreams or naive resets. This is the moment to finish the job and permanently prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
Let’s be clear about who we’re dealing with. Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 brought the theocratic ayatollahs to power, the Islamic Republic of Iran has made “Death to America” not just a chant, but a strategic objective. Its leaders issue fatwas against authors such as Salman Rushdie, whose near-fatal stabbing in New York was a chilling reminder of Iran’s reach. Iran also orchestrated an assassination plot against President Donald Trump. Iran’s fingerprints are on attacks that span continents and decades, from Beirut to Baghdad to Buenos Aires.
This is a regime that doesn’t hide its intentions. It proclaims them. A former Iranian president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, once openly mused that a nuclear exchange with Israel would destroy the Jewish state while Iran would survive, a genocidal calculation dressed up as geopolitical strategy. Another, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared that Israel should be “wiped off the face of the Earth” or “vanish from the pages of time” and included America in his threats. These aren’t the words of rational actors seeking peace. They are statements of intent from men who would commit mass murder if given the chance.
And for decades, they have worked toward that goal. But now, for the first time in years, Iran is reeling. Hamas, its terror proxy in Gaza, is in tatters following the brutal Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that murdered over 1,200 Israelis in a single day and Israel’s decisive response. Hezbollah, once feared as the region’s most formidable militia, has been bled dry in Lebanon. Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is dead, killed in a targeted assassination conducted by Israel. The infamous “beeper” attack by Israeli intelligence, among others, shattered the organization’s command structure. Former President Bashar Assad’s Ba’athist regime, long a puppet of Tehran, has collapsed in Syria. The Houthis of Yemen, another Iranian proxy, are being hammered from the sky by American airstrikes. The Iranian-led so-called “Axis of Resistance” is crumbling.
This is not a coincidence. It is the fruit of the Trump doctrine: peace through strength, deterrence through dominance. It was President Donald Trump who tore up the disastrous Iran deal and imposed maximum pressure sanctions. It was under his leadership that Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Iran’s terror empire, met justice in Baghdad. And it was Trump who restored American credibility in the Middle East.
Now, reports suggest some in Washington, even within conservative circles, are entertaining a return to an agreement with Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio even conceded that Iran can maintain a civilian nuclear program as long as it doesn’t enrich uranium. The regime smells weakness and is sharpening its knives with one hand while offering a handshake with the other. We must not fall for it.
Iran used the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action not to moderate its behavior but to entrench its control over the region. Billions in sanctions relief were funneled directly into terror operations and military buildup. During that time of so-called diplomacy, Iran laid the groundwork for the Oct. 7 attack against Israel. It was during the “thaw” that it tightened its grip over Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and parts of Iraq.
Any new deal would be more of the same: a temporary pause while Iran reloads. You cannot appease a regime that views compromise as a sign of weakness. You can only defeat it. That brings us to the choice at hand.
The first option is the Libyan model. Under American pressure, Libya voluntarily gave up its nuclear weapons program. This would be the best-case scenario: Iran fully, verifiably dismantling its nuclear capability and ending its enrichment efforts. Not a pause, not a promise, not a piece of paper signed in Vienna. A complete surrender of its nuclear ambitions, under the eyes of inspectors with no illusions and no limitations.
The second option is the Osirak model. In 1981, Israel launched a preemptive strike on Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor. The world condemned it. History vindicated it. That strike prevented a genocidal regime from acquiring the bomb. If Iran refuses to disarm voluntarily, then decisive military action must remain on the table. The alternative is accepting the unacceptable: a nuclear Iran, forever altering the balance of power in the region and threatening American lives and allies.
Trump understands this better than anyone. He recognized that American strength is not a provocation; it is a shield. The Abraham Accords, peace deals between Israel and Arab states brokered during his first term, weren’t signed because the region feared America’s wrath. They were signed because our enemies respected our resolve.
TRUMP CONFIDENT IRAN IS READY TO SIGN DEAL ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Now is the time to finish what we started. If we act now, we can ensure a future where Iran never gets the bomb. If we hesitate, we will one day be forced to explain why we let history’s most dangerous regime become a nuclear power.
Peace through strength is more than a slogan. It’s the only path forward. Let’s walk it with clear eyes, steady hands, and a firm resolve. Whether by Iranian surrender or U.S. and allied military action, we must stop the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Dr. Sheila Nazarian is a Los Angeles physician and star of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Skin Decision: Before and After. Her family escaped to the United States from Iran.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
