Iran’s fingerprints are all over the Rushdie attack, the question is will the US stand up? ✍️ KMooreGilbert
relentlessly promoted the hashtag #انتقام_سخت for weeks, meaning “harsh revenge”, and my own jailers frequently ranted about their determination to assassinate Mr Trump and anyone who supported him.
It is no coincidence this flurry of Iranian activity comes at a crucial moment for the hitherto-moribund JCPOA negotiations. Iranian hardliners have long opposed reviving the 2015 deal, and the Iranians have made a series of unrealistic and seemingly ever-shifting demands which has led many to conclude that they are not negotiating in good faith. Among these is requiring the US to delist the IRGC in its entirety from the State Department’s list of terror organisations.
A new nuclear accord would provide the Iranian regime with billions of dollars in sanctions relief and unfrozen assets. In inciting and celebrating the attack on Sir Salman, the Iranian regime has demonstrated in the most explicit way that engagement with Western powers on the nuclear issue will not have a moderating effect on the country’s other nefarious activities.
The Biden administration and its European partners’ willingness to make concessions are viewed in Tehran as signals of weakness.