If you ever get geopolitical amnesia and forget what the current Iranian regime is all about, don’t worry. It will remind you. Take the news from Australia, where the Prime Minister says Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) orchestrated attacks on Jewish neighborhoods.
In December masked men firebombed a Melbourne synagogue. In October arsonists struck a kosher deli in Sydney. Police say they traced the attacks to specific IRGC commanders, who worked through layers of cutouts offering cash for deeds. Iran likely was also behind other attacks on Aussie territory, officials say.
In response, Australia on Monday expelled Iran’s ambassador and designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Will any other states, even New Zealand, follow in solidarity?
This isn’t the first time Iran has devoted its scarce resources to attacking Jews abroad. Most infamously, Iran orchestrated a suicide attack on a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 in 1994. More recently, Iran has plotted arson attacks against synagogues in Germany and Jewish targets in Greece and Cyprus. This month the U.S. warned of plots against Jews in the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S., Canada and 12 European countries in July condemned “the growing number of state threats from Iranian intelligence services in our respective territories.” Iran is “increasingly collaborating with international criminal organizations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials in Europe and North America.”
Iran has made copious threats on the life of President Trump, and the International Atomic Energy Agency chief, who exposed Iran’s nuclear cheating, now needs round-the-clock security to protect him from peril.
As soon as Thursday, European states could begin triggering “snap-back” nuclear sanctions on Iran, but Tehran seems unworried. Perhaps that’s because it continues to sell Biden-era quantities of oil.
This Iranian regime won’t give up its forever war voluntarily. But after June’s successful strikes on Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, the West has leverage. Mr. Trump has a limited window to put it to use.
All Access.
One Subscription.
Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines
to 100 year archives.
E-Paper
Full Archives
Full Access to
HT App & Website
Games
Already subscribed? Login
