Even considering the blink-and-you-miss-it news cycle these days, the revelation of a developing Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump whooshed right past the discourse this week unusually fast—though I understand why it can’t hold a candle to an actual assassination attempt on live TV.
In fact, the personal dramas of the presidential election—Trump’s near-death experience, Joe Biden’s health struggles—have pushed Iran in general off the front burner. Despite everything going on, we should not need reminders to keep Iran in the conversation.
Especially considering the nature of Iran’s reminders. In January, Iranian proxy troops killed three U.S. servicemembers in Jordan. A couple of years ago, it was revealed that Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, was the target of an Iranian assassination plot. That context explains why we must take Tehran’s alleged desire to assassinate Trump seriously.
Iran’s “reminders” aren’t only found in the shadows, either. “In recent weeks, Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza, using a playbook we’ve seen other actors use over the years,” Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, said just over a week ago. “We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters.
By “a playbook we’ve seen other actors use over the years,” Haines is likely referring to Russia’s campaign of mischief in 2016. That’s one reason it’s so surprising we’re not talking more about Iranian intervention in U.S. politics.
Another reason is that what Iran is doing now surpasses Russia’s activities by a fair margin. Iranian militias have been firing at civilian ships—including U.S. vessels—in the crucial Red Sea passageways, curtailing shipping and driving prices up in a time of resilient inflation. The pro-Hamas and pro-Houthi demonstrations in New York City and elsewhere have devolved into violence. Iran-aligned Anti-Zionist and anti-American propaganda has been adopted by cities and government unions and elementary-school curricula, threatening to radicalize a generation of young Americans. The gruesome murder spree that started this war was carried out with Iranian cash and weapons and training—and took the lives of three-dozen Americans. President Biden’s lead Iran envoy and negotiator, Robert Malley, lost his security clearance and was put on leave for allegedly mishandling classified information, reportedly in connection with his Iran talks. Two of his top aides were revealed to be part of a circle of officials working with an Iranian-government-organized influence operation.
Of course, part of the problem here is that, for the reasons listed above, Republicans will have to be the ones to make the conversation about Iran. They cannot count on relentless media focus and investigatory zeal from the political press or the White House. In 2016 and after, it was almost impossible not to be talking about Russia. It was a riptide; you stepped into the political discourse and got pulled out into the middle of the ocean. That simply won’t happen on its own with Iran.
But it is crazy that the constant stream of Iranian meddling and murder has to be forced onto the agenda. The breadth of the Iran threat, however, also offers a path to keeping it from falling by the wayside. That’s because Iranian meddling has been so successful that China and its allies have followed its lead and refocused some of their propaganda efforts away from pro-Beijing messaging and toward anti-Israel/anti-Jewish messaging. The Iranian model has now been adopted by America’s enemies all over the world.
As I wrote in May, a bright red line was crossed when Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was a featured speaker at a massively anti-American conference connected to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated foreign terrorist organization. “We have to bring down this empire with one million cuts,” said one speaker, referring to the U.S. And who was that speaker? As Eli Lake pointed out, it was Manolo De Los Santos, director of the People’s Forum, a prominent Chinese propaganda outfit owned by the American-born Neville Roy Singham. The Marxist Singham made a tech fortune and became a major funder of CCP propaganda. The People’s Forum also financially supported the conference and hosted the conference’s website. The People’s Forum has been involved in the pro-Hamas protest movement from the beginning.
Iran has been behind two multi-casualty attacks on Americans since October. Its propaganda has penetrated into grade-school lesson plans. Its activist network has paralyzed universities and brought lawlessness to the streets of major U.S. cities. It may have been caught planning out the murder of a presidential candidate. And it has China’s massive soft-power reserves behind it.
And we should not stop talking about it.
