The growing alliance between and among the despotic regimes of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran becomes more obvious every day. These four countries intend to displace the United States as the world’s greatest superpower with a world order led by tyrannical regimes.
Today, America is on its heels, and these powers are ascendant. Iran’s ballistic-missile attacks against Israel give that country—America’s closest ally in the region, if not the world—an opportunity to achieve a military and geostrategic victory not just for itself against Iran but also against the entire axis of evil and in support of the U.S.-led world order.
It is time for the United States and its allies around the world to get on board and support Israel’s efforts, not hamstring them. In other words: “Take the win.”
Just recently, it was disclosed that North Korea helped build Hezbollah’s tunnel network in Lebanon. These tunnels are used by Hezbollah, Iran’s most important terror proxy, to store weapons supplied by Tehran, Russia and China and to launch attacks against Israel. It is also being reported that not only is Pyongyang providing missiles and other weaponry to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine, but that the Hermit Kingdom is providing military personnel to operate those weapons, North Korean citizens to replace Russian factory workers killed fighting in Ukraine, and, most significantly, ground troops to fight alongside Putin’s army in Ukraine. As Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy described: “It’s effectively the participation of a second state in the war against Ukraine on the side of Russia.”
While revelations concerning the extent of North Korea’s support for the Russian war effort may be recent, Chinese and Iranian support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine is nothing new. During the opening of the Beijing Olympics, on Feb. 4, 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping, with Putin standing by his side, announced that the bilateral partnership between China and Russia knew “no limits.” China’s continuing political and financial support for Russia over time has proven that point.
In large part because of the Biden administration’s failure to enforce oil sanctions against Iran and secondary oil sanctions against purchasers of Iran’s oil, China has been free to buy cheap crude oil from the mullahs. In turn, Iran has directed a significant portion of profits from those sales towards its nuclear, ballistic missile and drone capabilities. Having developed some of the most lethal and effective drones in the world, Iran has sold hundreds, if not thousands, of them to their Russian allies to kill Ukrainians.
As with any alliance, the weakening or destruction of one member of the alliance weakens the entire alliance.
Of the four members of the axis of evil, Iran is clearly the most vulnerable. As we know from popular uprisings that occurred as recently as 2009, 2015 and 2020, the ayatollahs are an unpopular regime. They were on the verge of being toppled, but because of the world’s silence and indifference, they were allowed to bludgeon their citizens into submission and the regime survived.
Until recently, Iran had chosen a strategy of establishing a “ring of fire” around Israel by funding, arming and training proxies rather than directly attacking Israel directly. Iran knows its military is no match for Israel’s. Iran was, however, forced to watch the degradation and destruction of its two most important terrorist proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, and was embarrassed by the Israeli operation in Tehran that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. After that, Iran calculated that not retaliating directly against Israel posed a greater risk to its hegemonic goals in the region than initiating a direct military attack.
The ayatollahs may have miscalculated.
Understandably, the Iranian leadership is counting on the United States to restrain Israel from a truly meaningful military response. What Iran fails to appreciate is that because Israel is fighting a war for its existence, no amount of American pressure will prevent it from a massive military response. As Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has stated, the response will be “precise and deadly.” The world should expect to see a massive attack against Iran’s military capabilities, including its drone program. Think of all the Ukrainian lives that will be saved.
There is little doubt that Israel will also target the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. That is the part of the Iranian government charged with coordinating Iran’s terrorist network around the world. The IRGC is the reason Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Think of how much better the lives of the Lebanese and Palestinian people would be if they were freed from Hezbollah and Hamas.
Unfortunately, it appears that the Biden administration has “persuaded” the Israelis not to attack Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities. While Jerusalem may not have the ability to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, it can easily destroy Iran’s oil facilities. Think of how much more expensive China’s oil would be and the strain it would place on its economy if it could no longer purchase cheap oil from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. That pressure could even force China to place “limits” on its support for Putin’s war.
The sad reality is that unless and until there is regime change in Tehran, there will be a perpetual state of war and instability in the Middle East. It is highly unlikely that regime change will be brought about by any single military operation. Regime change depends on the Iranian people. Will an attack by Israel be enough to trigger another popular uprising among the Iranian people? Probably not. If it does, however, will the free world finally support the freedom fighters rather than watch them being clubbed to death by the regime?
The United States and the rest of Western civilization have been presented with a golden opportunity. We can join Israel and—without putting a single boot on the ground—utterly destroy the infrastructure that enables the current Iranian regime to hold power. We would thereby free the Iranian people to take back their country.
But will we?
If French President Emmanuel Macron and some of his fellow sanctimonious, self-righteous, handwringing NATO leaders are any indication of what the future holds, Israel will be left all alone to defend Western civilization. Meanwhile, Xi, Putin, Khamenei and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un continue to plot the end of the American-led world order. Even worse, rather than thanking the Jewish state for making their countries safer, these supposed leaders of the Free World will condemn Israel for doing so.