Dear Weekend Jolter,

Under a smoldering ash heap lies America’s diplomatic dalliance with Iran.

Its fate was clear to many for months, if not years, before Israel endured — and this time, with U.S. help, successfully repelled — the second act of war committed against it in six months. And with Israel retaliating in strikes against Iran early Friday, reportedly hitting a base near a city housing nuclear and missile facilities, the project has ended definitively in ruin.

The coming days will reveal whether Israel has reestablished deterrence or merely returned one of many volleys in a war to come. The limited nature of the counterstrike, and the inherent insinuation that Israel could inflict much worse, may lead to de-escalation. But the past week has, if anything, shown the wisdom of America’s yearslong effort to bring together Israel and surrounding Arab nations in contrast with the folly of courting Iran. As NR’s post-attack editorial argues, the origins of Tehran’s brazen assault on Israel can be traced to actions undertaken during the last administration in which Biden served. Overlooking Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism and attacks via regional proxies, Obama negotiators had pursued a nuclear deal that “funneled tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief to Iran and allowed the regime to become a greater conventional threat.” While Trump withdrew from the pact,

Biden and his team — many of the same people responsible for Obama’s failed policies — sought to resurrect the deal. Once again, in doing so, they tried to downplay Iran’s bad behavior and funneled tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief to Iran.