Iraq is another key pressure point. The victory of militant Iraqi nationalist Moqtada al-Sadr in Saturday’s elections should worry Tehran as much as Washington. Sadr has quietly developed good relations with Saudi Arabia, and his movement may offer the best chance of maintaining an Arab Iraq, as opposed to a Persian-dominated one. But again, that’s assuming Washington is serious about backing the Saudis in checking Iran’s regional ambitions.
Getting both Iran and Saudi Arabia out of Yemen would help, too. That would require a mix of subtle pressure and diplomacy from a Trump administration that has shown little skill at either so far in the Middle East. But it’s a worthy goal for Mike Pompeo, the new secretary of state.
Rolling back an aggressive rival seems impossible, until someone dares to try it. Think back to the Ronald Reagan presidency, when policymakers considered the once-unthinkable possibility that America and its allies could dislodge the Soviets from the Third World and, eventually, from Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union itself. After a decade of challenge, Soviet power was gone.
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