Trump May Be Turning Iran Into Another North Korea

Opinion Columnist, reporting from Tel Aviv.

The United States has a long history of bungling Iran.

On New Year’s Eve 1977, President Jimmy Carter hailed Iran as “an island of stability” and toasted the shah for the “love which your people give to you.” Just over a week later, mass protests began that eventually forced out the despised shah.

The American ambassador, William Sullivan, suggested in 1978 that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the brutal architect of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, might play a “Gandhi-like position.” Andrew Young, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, suggested in early 1979 that Khomeini would “be somewhat of a saint.”

Now, once again, we’ve botched our way into an Iran cul-de-sac, and in the process we appear to have inadvertently strengthened the most dangerous and extreme forces in that country. President Trump is right that we have significantly degraded Iran’s air force, navy and missile systems — but conversely Iran has gained leverage by controlling passage through the Strait of Hormuz. So one bizarre result of the war is that Iran is now earning almost twice as much per day in oil revenue as it was before the war, partly because of higher oil prices, according to The Economist.

It’s healthy that President Trump is talking about wrapping up his war in Iran: “We will be leaving very soon,” Trump said. The problem is that while President Trump could start the war, he can’t end it on his own; Iran has a vote on that.

Trump is now blustering less about seizing Kharg Island, but he still preserves options for reckless escalation and indulges in bombast about bombing Iran “back to the stone age.” Does Trump understand that (a) targeting civilian infrastructure is likely a war crime, and (b) Iran’s response to such attacks could be counterstrikes on oil and gas infrastructure and desalination plants around the region?

After having started the war that led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump is now framing its reopening as a task for other nations. “We’re not going to have anything to do with it,” he said at one point. He also advised other countries: “Go get your own oil.”

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Nicholas Kristof became a columnist for The Times Opinion desk in 2001 and has won two Pulitzer Prizes. His new memoir is “Chasing Hope: A Reporter's Life.” @NickKristof

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