The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Washington on Thursday feeling skeptical about the US President’s optimism on reaching a “good deal” with Iran.

As explained by Netanyahu: “The president believes the Iranians already understand who they are dealing with. Trump thinks the conditions he is setting, combined with their understanding that they made a mistake last time by not reaching an agreement, could lead them to accept terms that would make it possible to achieve a good deal.” The Prime Minister also added that the deal must go beyond the nuclear issue and include the Iranian ballistic missile capability and its regional proxies. They are indeed a major concern for Israel’s national security.

Trump believes that fear is “the only thing that really will get the situation taken care of” and that will push the Iranian regime to accept a deal with the United States.

It is unclear whether Trump genuinely believes he can reach a deal with Iran, or whether he is simply prolonging the negotiations to shield himself from criticism by parts of the international community and isolationist voters in the event that he decides to launch an attack on the regime. By doing so, he could argue that he made a sincere effort to negotiate before resorting to military action. Another reason could also be that, before launching an attack, he wants to make sure to have all the necessary military assets in place to face Iran’s eventual reaction against US targets throughout the Middle East.

Recently, US Vice President JD Vance said that the Trump administration is significantly more concerned with Iran’s nuclear capabilities than the mass killing of demonstrators by the IRGC because it is a domestic issue, as it involves the safety of US citizens. A clear attempt to keep the situation in line with the “America First” policy.

However, ballistic missile capability and regional proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and the Shia militias in Iraq are a concern for the United States as well because the Iranian regime can use them to threaten US bases in the region, therefore putting American lives at risk.

As if that were not enough, these factors play a fundamental role in the destabilization of the entire Middle Eastern area, presenting a clear and evident obstacle to Trump’s peace project.

Moreover, let’s not forget nor underestimate the regime’s operational capabilities in Latin America through its IRGC and the Hezbollah networks active in the Tri-Border area, Brazil, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

On behalf of Iran, it is clear that the regime is just trying to buy time by claiming that it is willing to accept a “fair” deal which basically means asking for sanctions to be lifted while at the same time making promises on the nuclear deal that will not be kept. Rafael Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog, said it very clearly at the Munich Conference when he explained that the agency’s inspectors had returned to Iran following the war, but have not been able to visit any of the sites that were targeted.

On Sunday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC in an interview that Iran ruled out linking the negotiations to other questions including its missile arsenal and the proxies.

The Iranian regime is not going to give up its objective of obtaining nuclear capabilities, just as it is not going to abandon its willingness to annihilate Israel, because the latter is one of the main factors that keeps the regime alive. Without its ideology of hatred, and the constant threat of destabilizing the region, the regime would lose its reason to exist.

Khomeinist religious fanaticism makes it immune to logic and common sense and the regime is willing to drag the entire country into the abyss rather than give up its grip on power. The massacre of dissidents perpetrated by the IRGC and the Basiji militias, which is increasingly taking on the characteristics of an internal genocide against the opposition to the regime in order to “purify the nation” (as stated by the regime itself) shows that the theocrats are in survival mode, which means that they will stop at nothing to reach their objectives.

Time is vital for the regime and it will do everything to delay negotiations by making promises on nuclear issues and unlikely business deals. The Trump administration must not fall into that trap and must not allow the pressure of Qatar, which does not wish to see a downfall of the regime, to influence its decisions.

Despite the crackdown, signs of anti-regime activity are still present inside Iran, with slogans against the clerical leadership being chanted from balconies and windows. In the meantime, the pressure to oust the regime coming from the Iranian dissidence abroad to oust the regime is rapidly growing. In Munich, 250,000 people attended a rally on Saturday that was personally addressed by Reza Pahlavi, the son of the ousted shah, who reiterated his willingness to lead a political transition in Iran. Other anti-regime rallies were held in Los Angeles and Toronto.

In conclusion, there can be no “good deal” with the Khomeinist regime, but only a regime change which would widely benefit the Iranian people, regional stability and the security of Israel, the United States, and the West in general.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)