Washington Post: This is how Trump can end Iran’s war in 5 steps

Journalist Mark Thiessen has envisioned how to end the war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran decisively and in Washington’s interests, without the need for a negotiated agreement.

The former White House letter-writing director relied on US President Donald Trump’s recent speech in which he threatened that if no agreement is reached with Iran’s surviving leaders in the coming weeks, he would send Iran back to the “Stone Age”.

Thyssen pointed out that Trump doesn’t need a formal agreement to achieve victory, but can impose his conditions unilaterally, instead of waiting for Iran to agree to the conditions he has set, by taking five practical steps, as follows:

Step One: It’s the completion of all remaining military tasks, which requires the elimination of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, including the seizure or destruction of fissile material, as well as the destruction of all remaining military targets.

As part of the move, Washington is developing an innovative plan to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, then hand over control of it to a multinational coalition of oil-beneficiary countries, with the possibility of imposing tolls on ships.

The author advised the president to take control or destroy Kharg Island, a focal point of Iran’s energy exports, to ensure that the regime’s ability to finance its military and terrorist proxies is disrupted.

Step Two: Some Iranian leaders were not previously targeted to be negotiating partners, but if they reject the surrender conditions their presence remains unnecessary, Thiessen proposes issuing a final ultimatum, and then allowing Israel to carry out final strikes to target them.

Step Three: It’s a unilateral declaration of victory, as Thyssen believes that Trump should declare victory immediately after all military tasks are completed, without the need for a ceasefire or a peace agreement, which would demonstrate the dominance of the United States on the ground.

Step Four: Trump would then have to declare that all of his demands are effective immediately, noting that any violation, such as rebuilding the nuclear program or supporting what he called terrorist groups, would face an immediate military response from the United States and Israel, in order to keep Iran under constant pressure and show that testing America’s will would be risky.

Step Five: This external military pressure, in addition to internal popular pressure, would open the way for the Iranian opposition to organize itself, reshape the government in a US-friendly manner, and achieve a transition toward more peaceful and stable governance.

Thiessen concludes by emphasizing that the success of Operation Epic Fury is only complete by ensuring the collapse of the Iranian regime or reducing its survivability, noting that what the United States has achieved on the ground will be temporary if there are no radical changes inside Iran, otherwise the regime will quickly rebuild its capabilities if its leaders survive.