The WSJ reports that the Obama administration is shifting its policy emphasis to reflect an emerging view that the Iranian regime is weaker than previously thought. Team Obama doesn't support regime change, but it realizes that it is a real possibility. A major Swiss commodities trading firm is suspending gasoline shipments to Iran, fearing US sanctions. Stateside, a major federal court appellate case will address whether a major anti-regime group, the MKK, should remain designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO); the administration intends that the designation be kept, but security consultant James Zumwalt argues the label should not apply.
AEI Iran maven Ali Alfoneh sees opposition influence growing, and notes the five points set forth by opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi:
That's why the Islamic Republic's political leadership is bound to ignore opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi's five-point plan to solve the political crisis in the country: Responsible government, free and fair elections, freedom to political prisoners, freedom of the press, and the right to establish political parties.
Bottom Line. American policy must put regime change first, sanctions second and quixotic negotiations third.
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