During the Cold War, the United States occupied the apex of this triangular dynamic, pitting China and the USSR against each other. Today, it is Beijing that occupies that apex.
The Iranian regime remains capable of funding its power mechanisms and suppressing opposition, while the United States ... suffers from limited political space.
History has never witnessed a leader quite like Donald Trump — a mix of ignorance, arrogance immorality, brazenness, insensitivity and sheer stupidity.
The challenge for Washington is no longer whether it possesses sufficient capabilities, but whether the political system can align those capabilities behind a coherent long-term priority.
Rasool’s expulsion deepened an already deteriorating relationship between the two countries, one that had been on a downward spiral since Trump returned to office.
But with a maniacal president who cannot tolerate even a simple difference of opinion, a country that dares not to comply with his demands turns into an enemy that must be eliminated.