Iran has shown time and time again it has no interest in working with the U.S. The last few weeks offer further proof of that fact. On June 19, Iran shot down a $100 million Air Force surveillance drone that was operating in international airspace. This followed just one week after Iran attacked two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Although the Iranian government has denied these accusations, the U.S. has provided sufficient evidence proving otherwise, which both the UK and Germany have supported.

This isn’t the first time the Iranian government has attacked assets of the U.S. and its allies. In May, the U.S. sent an aircraft carrier strike group and Air Force bombers to the Middle East due to “troubling and escalatory” behavior related to Iran. Soon after, four oil tankers were attacked in the Persian Gulf. Who was responsible? Iran. U.S. allies owned all four oil tankers.

A few days after the attacks, Iran announced that it would immediately accelerate its uranium production. This week Iran made good on that promise. These statements come after years of denying it has any intention of obtaining a nuclear weapon. Clearly, however, Iran has every intention of doing so.

President Trump responded by imposing sanctions on top officials within the Iranian government. This is in addition to a staggering level of sanctions already imposed on Iran, which have cut Iran’s oil exports by nearly 90 percent in the last year and denied the Iranian government 40 percent of its annual revenue. This has forced Iran to cut military spending by nearly a third, according to the State Department.   

Although we do not seek war or conflict with Iran, if provoked or attacked, we will respond accordingly. As long as Iran continues its hostile behavior, the President will maintain his “maximum pressure” sanctions policy to curtail Iran’s behavior. President Trump’s measured response has given Iran a number of opportunities to correct its wrongs. Like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton have said, the U.S. is leaving an open door for Iran to walk through when they are ready to talk.

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