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One of the more refreshing things about Secretary of State Marco Rubio is that he doesn't waste everyone's time pretending obvious things aren't obvious. In a political world where diplomats often communicate in layers of carefully polished mush, Rubio looked at the ruling regime in Tehran and described it with refreshing accuracy.
"Religious-theocratic lunatics."
That's a reasonably concise description of a government run by radical clerics who have spent decades funding terrorism, threatening America's allies, chanting "Death to America," and treating basic human rights like optional suggestions.
While speaking during his Middle East trip on Thursday, Rubio was asked whether he still stood by those remarks.
"You used to call them religious theocratic lunatics," a reporter said. "Do you still believe that language applies to the leadership today?"
Rubio didn't blink.
"Well, look, it's not that I believe it. It's the fact of the matter," the Secretary of State replied. "I mean, the Iranian system is led by clerics, radical clerics. That's what it's always been led by, and that's what it continues to be led by. That said, we also have to manage the geopolitics of the situation. And if they've changed their mindset or if they've changed their approach to their relations with the United States and their neighbors, then we're going to give this thing a chance to work."
How novel--the truth be told.
That's about as sensible as foreign policy gets. Recognize reality first. Explore diplomacy second. Don't confuse wishful thinking with evidence.
The Secretary of State continued: "Maybe this changed. I'm not saying it has. I'm saying the president wants to explore whether that's the case. And if it has, we're going to find out. But we're not going to find out because of what they say. We're going to find out because of what they do. We're going to judge them by their actions."
Imagine that. Judging the Iranian regime by its actions instead of its press releases. What a concept.
The Trump administration is trying to reassure America's Middle Eastern allies that Iran will be handled appropriately following last week's memorandum of understanding. That's understandable, because Tehran hasn't exactly been behaving like a government eager to join the civilized world as much as they appear to want to destroy it in order to welcome in the Twelfth Imam.
Instead, Iran has continued acting as though it somehow has leverage. During negotiations in Switzerland over the weekend, the regime reportedly treated American negotiators with its usual mix of arrogance and theatrical contempt. Then on Thursday, it attacked a cargo vessel attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz using a route that wasn't blessed by the ayatollahs.
That's less the behavior of a government seeking peace than one testing how much mischief it can get away with before someone reminds it that actions have consequences.
President Trump has repeatedly insisted that Iran holds no cards. Fair enough, but there comes a point where the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism has to stop being told where the line is and start discovering that crossing it carries a price.
Everyone wants peace. Rational people always do, which obviously leaves out the Iranian Regime.
The problem is that peace only works when both sides value it. The Iranian regime has spent nearly half a century demonstrating that what it respects isn't goodwill or carefully worded diplomatic communiqués. It respects strength.
Rubio's blunt assessment may offend the professional pearl-clutchers in Washington, but pretending the ayatollahs are misunderstood statesmen has never produced results. Calling reality by its proper name is a much better place to start.
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That's about as sensible as foreign policy gets. Recognize reality first. Explore diplomacy second. Don't confuse wishful thinking with evidence.
The Secretary of State continued: "Maybe this changed. I'm not saying it has. I'm saying the president wants to explore whether that's the case. And if it has, we're going to find out. But we're not going to find out because of what they say. We're going to find out because of what they do. We're going to judge them by their actions."
Imagine that. Judging the Iranian regime by its actions instead of its press releases. What a concept.
The Trump administration is trying to reassure America's Middle Eastern allies that Iran will be handled appropriately following last week's memorandum of understanding. That's understandable, because Tehran hasn't exactly been behaving like a government eager to join the civilized world as much as they appear to want to destroy it in order to welcome in the Twelfth Imam.
Instead, Iran has continued acting as though it somehow has leverage. During negotiations in Switzerland over the weekend, the regime reportedly treated American negotiators with its usual mix of arrogance and theatrical contempt. Then on Thursday, it attacked a cargo vessel attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz using a route that wasn't blessed by the ayatollahs.
That's less the behavior of a government seeking peace than one testing how much mischief it can get away with before someone reminds it that actions have consequences.
President Trump has repeatedly insisted that Iran holds no cards. Fair enough, but there comes a point where the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism has to stop being told where the line is and start discovering that crossing it carries a price.
Everyone wants peace. Rational people always do, which obviously leaves out the Iranian Regime.
The problem is that peace only works when both sides value it. The Iranian regime has spent nearly half a century demonstrating that what it respects isn't goodwill or carefully worded diplomatic communiqués. It respects strength.
Rubio's blunt assessment may offend the professional pearl-clutchers in Washington, but pretending the ayatollahs are misunderstood statesmen has never produced results. Calling reality by its proper name is a much better place to start.
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