Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

Need for a comprehensive policy to counter Iran

Need for a comprehensive policy to counter Iran

American officials this week announced that a full range of UN sanctions had returned on Iran, including a permanent extension of the arms embargo. Some observers debate the efficacy of these measures, particularly as the European powers have signaled that they will not enforce them.

But the efficacy argument serves as secondary to a much more significant dimension of Washington's resolve: Holding Tehran accountable for its current and future transgressions.

Regardless of the immediate material impact on the regime’s economic situation, accountability is a principle that undergirds a specific strategic calculus.

Consider the facts. American intelligence officials this month reported that Tehran had developed plans to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa in retaliation for the elimination of terrorist mastermind Qassem Soleimani in January.

Meanwhile, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran continues to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium, in violation of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Tehran’s terrorist activity has also escalated and, if left unchecked, such behavior could simply spiral out of control. In 2018, a senior Iranian diplomat stationed in Vienna was caught red-handed by European authorities hand-delivering an explosive device to a terrorist sleeper cell as part of a plot to bomb a rally organized by the Iranian opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Paris.

At the gathering were hundreds of international personalities, including the NCRI’s President-elect Maryam Rajavi.

The detained diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, is scheduled to appear at a Belgian court in November to face trial. It is unprecedented in Europe’s modern history for a sitting diplomat to be tried on charges of direct involvement in a terrorist plot.

Over the past two years, seven other Iranian diplomats, including an ambassador in Albania, have been expelled for similar reasons.

Against this backdrop, a profoundly consequential question arises for Iran policy: If the Europeans and Americans fail to show Tehran that its malign actions carry serious consequences, then what will stop the further escalation of such acts?

If Tehran is not held accountable when it acts with impunity, it will be emboldened to try and impose itself on the regional and international order. That is why the Iranian people themselves are calling for accountability.

Rajavi last week said: “Faced with executions and massacres, the people of Iran urge the US, and the UN Security Council in particular, to restore snapback sanctions stipulated in the six UN resolutions against the clerical regime in Iran.

Otherwise, (Supreme Leader Ali) Khamenei will continue to ravage the nation, as his regime’s survival depends on murder and suppression.”

Containing the regime’s regional meddling by eliminating Soleimani has already yielded historic results. As former US National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones told last week’s Trans-Atlantic Summit on Iran Policy, the UAE and Bahrain’s agreements with Israel show that “the circle of countries that are in direct opposition to what Iran is doing is growing by leaps and bounds.”

It is remarkable that, even during one of the most divisive election years in US history, the same strategic principle has vocal adherents on both sides of the aisle. For example, Rep.

Brad Schneider, a Democrat from Illinois, told the summit: “We must always play a leadership role in holding the Iranian regime accountable for its misdeeds abroad and against their own people.” Similarly, Republican Sen. Martha McSally said: “The US and the international community must continue to hold Iran accountable for its human rights violations and reprehensible behavior.”

Both lawmakers were among the speakers who addressed the international summit on Iran policy, which was organized by the NCRI. It virtually linked 10,000 locations worldwide and was addressed by hundreds of public officials and lawmakers from Europe, the US and Canada.

The high-profile speakers included Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, Joe Lieberman and more than 30 sitting members of Congress, including Sens. Roy Blunt, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Kirsten Gillibrand and Bob Menendez. This shows that, despite their differences, members of both major US parties agree on holding the Iranian regime accountable for its malign actions.

"The US and European countries must pressure the UN General Assembly and Security Council to take action on the Iranian regime’s atrocious human rights record." Dr. Majid Rafizadeh


Now, the US and European countries must pressure the UN General Assembly and Security Council to take action on the Iranian regime’s atrocious human rights record.

The objective should not simply be to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons; it should also be to put an end to Tehran’s destabilizing behavior in the region, stop its support for terrorism, and help the Iranian people have a representative, democratic and inclusive government. That is the ultimate strategic solution to the crisis.

Again, there is remarkable bipartisan agreement on supporting the Iranian people and the opposition. Menendez, the most senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, summed this up by saying: “While in Congress we may have differing approaches about the best way to address the threat from Iran, rest assured that we remain united against the regime’s fundamental abuses against its citizens.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×