First, he would prioritize ending the flow of personnel and equipment from Iran to its proxies. The Revolutionary Guard uses air, land and sea routes to move arms across its network, aided by cooperative governments in Iraq and Qatar that allow unfettered access to their airspace and ports. The administration needs a coordinated diplomatic approach using carrots and sticks to get Iraq and Qatar to crack down on Iran’s weapons shipments. Instead, Trump has neglected Iraq and backed the Gulf countries’ blockade of Qatar, which has driven Doha closer to Tehran.

Second, Trump should mobilize a broad international effort against Iran’s proxies, instead of wasting political capital arguing with America’s allies and partners about a nuclear deal they all support. The administration should designate Hezbollah as a Transnational Criminal Organization — it’s remarkable this hasn’t happened yet — and then press countries across Latin America and Europe to follow suit. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis had the right idea in his confirmation hearing when he called for a global shaming campaign to shine a spotlight on Iran’s bad behavior, but this also hasn’t happened. And Trump should direct the intelligence community to share with foreign governments the tail numbers of Iranian aircraft known to have been used to transfer weapons and urge them to deny access even if the flights are now carrying civilians.

Third, the administration should keep Tehran from building a bigger military presence in Syria. Trump has made it clear he wants to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, but that would allow the Revolutionary Guard to further stockpile weapons and forces that could be used to attack Israel. The guard used a similar playbook in Lebanon, where it established forward bases with as many as 120,000 missiles pointing at Israel. Trump should instead be developing a plan to contain or reduce Iran’s presence in Syria. That doesn’t mean the U.S. must have a permanent military presence, but the administration can’t outsource the problem to others. At a minimum, the president should be surging intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to keep a closer eye on Iran’s activities within Syria.

Finally, the administration should be tackling the Revolutionary Guard directly. Its leaders have a firm grip on much of the Iranian economy and they benefit from a loophole in U.S. law that allows foreign investment in companies in which the guard maintains “minority” ownership. There’s a bipartisan bill pending in Congress authorizing the administration to close that loophole, but it hasn’t done it yet.

Another important step that would weaken the Revolutionary Guard is one Trump apparently doesn’t want to take: leaving the nuclear deal in place. Trump’s disdain for the deal is blinding him to its benefits. It puts a lid on Iran’s nuclear program, and facilitates foreign investment. That diversification is reducing the Revolutionary Guard’s economic dominance. Ripping up the deal would undo all that. Instead, the administration should build on what’s been gained, perhaps by offering to lift remaining sanctions in exchange for specific concessions on Iran’s ballistic missile program.

For all his threats and bluster, Trump actually is going easy on Iran. By focusing so intently on the nuclear deal he has lost sight of a larger strategy that would effectively contain Iran in the region. And if Trump does kill the Iran nuclear deal, he will be strengthening the hardliners and the Revolutionary Guard, who are responsible for Iran’s worst behavior. It’s an upside-down policy.

Source: www.latimes.com