Former President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law hailed President Joe Biden’s willingness to rejoin the Iran nuke deal that Trump exited.
Jared Kushner wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that Biden’s willingness to rejoin the agreement was the correct tactic because it exposed Tehran’s doublespeak.
“While many were troubled by the Biden team’s opening offer to work with Europe and rejoin the Iran deal … I saw it as a smart diplomatic move,” Kushner wrote. “The Biden administration called Iran’s bluff. It revealed to the Europeans that the JCPOA is dead and only a new framework can bring stability for the future.”
Kushner further praised Biden by saying that “when Iran asked for a reward merely for initiating negotiations, President Biden did the right thing and refused.”
But Kushner was adamant that the policies of the Trump administration are what gave the U.S. the upper hand in its confrontation with Tehran.
“Trump has said that Iran has never won a war but never lost a negotiation,” he wrote. “This negotiation is high-stakes and, thanks to his policies, America holds a strong hand. Iran is feigning strength, but its economic situation is dire and it has no ability to sustain conflict or survive indefinitely under current sanctions.”
Kushner insisted that American steadfastness can bring advantageous results.
“America should be patient and insist that any deal include real nuclear inspections and an end to Iran’s funding of foreign militias,” he wrote. “If the threat from Iran decreases, so can the region’s military budgets. Imagine how many lives could be improved if that money, an outsize share of gross domestic product, were invested in infrastructure, education, small business and impoverished communities.”
Kushner also credited the Trump administration’s historic Abraham Accords, which brought normalization deals between Israel and several Arab nations, as laying a strong foundation for defeating Iran and unleashing a new, more positive path for the region by delivering a blow to “those who prefer chaos.”
Kushner stressed that “most important, normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is in sight. The kingdom dipped a toe in the water by granting overflight rights to Israel and, most recently, allowing an Israeli racing team to participate in the Dakar Rally. The Saudi people are starting to see that Israel is not their enemy. Relations with Israel are in the Saudi national interest and can be achieved if the Biden administration leads.”
He insisted “the estrangement between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East over the past 70 years is not the norm. As Jews and Muslims now travel more freely through the region, they return to the tradition of ages past, when members of the Abrahamic faiths lived peacefully side by side.”
Kushner said these achievements from the Trump administration have set the table for the real possibility of more progress, and “if it is smart, the Biden administration will seize this historic opportunity to unleash the Middle East’s potential, keep America safe, and help the region turn the page on a generation of conflict and instability. It is time to begin a new chapter of partnership, prosperity, and peace.”
Source: Newmax
