Putting Iranian assets to good use

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Another day and more conflicting reports about the Iran conflict. The good news: U.S. officials indicated over the weekend that they’re willing to use Iranian assets against the nation.

On Monday, Israel halted attacks on Iran, CNN reported. In return, Iran suspended military action against Israel but said that would be temporary if the Jewish state continued to defend itself against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Is this an actual ceasefire? Nobody seems to know. It’s up to Iran and its proxy.

The idea that Iran is interested in an actual deal appears to be the triumph of hope over experience. The regime has shown no willingness to follow through on promises to open one of the world’s most important shipping corridors or on giving up its efforts to develop nuclear weapons — an endeavor that has endured massive setbacks thanks to U.S. and Israeli aerial attacks. Iran’s rope-a-dope strategy is to stall and stall again in the hopes that Mr. Trump loses interest or will.

But Mr. Trump and his military team understand that the United States must not cede the Strait of Hormuz to Iran or allow the nation to begin to rebuild its nuclear program.

As the rhetorical dance continues between the two countries, a source close to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CBS News that the United States is prepared to use Iranian assets to help rebuild Arab nations targeted by Tehran. The Iranian military has been unable to inflict much damage on American military targets, so it has resorted to lobbing missiles and launching drone attacks on nations such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain.

Mr. “Bessent has also directed the Treasury to seek comprehensive estimates from Gulf allies of the costs associated with repairing damage caused by Iran since the conflict began,” the source told CBS.

Iran has repeatedly insisted that any peace deal include the lifting of Western economic sanctions that have frozen $24 billion in Iranian holdings outside the country. The United States also has an inventory of “hard” Iranian assets, such as seized oil tankers. The move by Treasury signals that further Iranian belligerence against fellow Arab nations would be financially costly, indeed. Good.