Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Aims to Strike Iran, 'Extraordinarily Weak'

The Wall Street Journal reported that two weeks before Donald Trump's return to the White House, his administration plans to intensify sanctions along with military options against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The report indicates that the new U.S. government intends to escalate sanctions on Iran as part of an aggressive effort to end Tehran's support for terrorist groups in the Middle East, as the Iranian regime remains a threat to Washington's allies, particularly Israel. The Wall Street Journal noted that Trump's team is considering further actions, including airstrikes, aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. According to the report, Iran faced a tough year in 2024, which made Tehran 'extraordinarily weak' in the Middle East, and now, on the brink of Trump's second term in 2025, an even tougher year is beginning for Tehran. The newspaper attributes the 'extraordinary weakening' of the military capabilities of the Islamic Republic in 2024 to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon and the extremist group Hamas in Gaza, the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, and the destruction of a significant portion of Iran's air defense systems in direct Israeli attacks in retaliation for the Islamic Republic's missile strikes against Israeli territory. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist group by the U.S. and the European Union. Following Hamas's surprise attack on Israel, the Islamic Republic supported Hezbollah's entry into the war against Israel, which was Tehran's largest proxy force in the region. However, as the war progressed, Israel eliminated key leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, including Yahya Sinwar, Hassan Nasrallah, and Ismail Haniyeh. Syria, which some Iranian officials had deemed 'more important than Khuzestan,' suddenly witnessed Bashar al-Assad's flight last month; a ruler for whom Iran had spent tens of billions of dollars over decades to maintain his regime as the center of the 'Axis of Resistance.' The war that began with Hamas's attack on Israel escalated into Israeli military operations in Gaza and shifted to direct attacks between Iran and Israel, making the long-standing shadow war between the two governments public. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, who had previously hinted that 2025 would be a significant year for Iran's nuclear program, recently spoke of Iran's readiness to resume nuclear negotiations 'without delay' in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Two months ago, after Trump's victory, he stated that the U.S. maximum pressure policy had led to 'maximum resistance' on this side and 'maximum failure' for the U.S. on the other side. According to the Wall Street Journal, despite heavy attacks on its allies, Tehran now relies on its proxies in Iraq and Yemen, whose ability to strike targets in Israel is limited due to geographical distance. The Wall Street Journal's report on January 6 reminds us that Iran's economic crisis has reached a new peak, and current problems represent the biggest challenge for the Islamic Republic's leadership since the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement protests, making Tehran's regime more vulnerable to the consequences of unrest. The report states that Iran's economic situation has deteriorated due to mismanagement and corruption within the Iranian government and international sanctions, with electricity shortages leading to the closure of government offices, educational institutions, and universities, disrupting factory production processes. The Wall Street Journal also notes that the value of the Iranian currency faced a 40% drop in the last days of 2024 compared to the beginning of that year, with each U.S. dollar trading for over 82,000 tomans. Iran's gross domestic product also decreased by 45% that year, with per capita GDP falling to $4,465.60 for each citizen, the lowest level in the 12 years since U.S. sanctions against Iran's nuclear program began. The newspaper states that the economic crisis weighs heavily on the Iranian people, and according to data from the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, at least 32 million Iranians, equivalent to one-third of the country's population, live below the poverty line; a figure that has nearly doubled in seven years. In 2017, about 18 million Iranians were below the poverty line. The report indicates that Iranian rulers are concerned about the spread of public protests, which were recently seen in the oil industry when workers at the important Abadan oil refinery protested against not receiving their salaries for three consecutive months. The Wall Street Journal further references a report from the Tasnim news agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which warned against criticism of Masoud Pezeshkian, who portrays the entire regime as ineffective. Ali Rabiei, an assistant to Masoud Pezeshkian, who was previously a senior official in the regime's intelligence apparatus, admits that the Iranian people are 'very tired,' and the country's youth are showing signs of rebellion against the current situation, claiming that extensive sanctions significantly contribute to this sense of despair. Last month, the Wall Street Journal also reported that Donald Trump, in his discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressed concern that during his second term, Iran might move towards nuclearization and supports plans to prevent this. The report indicated that Trump's transition team is developing a strategy that he calls 'maximum pressure 2-0' against the Iranian regime. The report added that following the economic sanctions that Trump's first administration focused on, he, along with his advisors, is considering the possibility of using military actions to attack nuclear facilities during his second presidential term.