Canadian Iranian journalist and documentary filmmaker
Former US President Donald Trump blamed the Biden administration for Iran edging close to nuclear weapons at the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention (RNC) Thursday evening.
He made his keynote address, appearing somber and bandaged, accepting the GOP presidential nomination at the RNC convention in Milwaukee just five days after an assassination attempt that could have ended his life.
When it came to Iran, from its advancements on the nuclear front to its proxies multi-front campaign against Israel, the presidential candidate didn't hold back, taking strong aim at President Biden and his administration.
"Iran is very close to having a nuclear weapon, which would have never happened. This is a shame...the damage that this administration has done," said Trump to a cheering crowd.
Iran has enriched enough uranium to 60% purity for at least three bombs, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iran could convert uranium enriched to 60% to bomb-grade fuel in just a matter of days.
Iran's nuclear gains under Biden's administration, according the FDD's Behnam Ben Taleblu, are irreversible and his approach has led to a "credibility crisis."
"The contradictory approach under Biden of trying to de-escalate and establish deterrence has led to a credibility crisis exploited by US adversaries," he said.
Trump reiterated his claim that Iran was on the verge of agreeing to negotiate a new deal to more strictly curb its nuclear program before Trump lost the 2020 election.
He also said that the Oct 7 atrocities would have never happened on his watch.
"Iran was broke. Iran had no money. Now Iran has $250 billion. They made it all over the last two and a half years. They were broke," said Trump.
Trump's logic being that if Iran is financially struggling, the clerical establishment would find it tough to finance its proxies committing acts of terror.
“I told China and other countries if you buy from Iran, we will not let you do any business in this country.”
In April, President Joe Biden signed into law new sanctions aimed at reducing the flow of Iranian oil to China, which purchases about 90 percent of Iran's oil exports.
A bipartisan group of over 40 US House lawmakers called on the Biden administration to “expeditiously implement” stringent new Iran sanctions targeting the country’s oil exports to China in June.
The FDD's Taleblu told Iran International that the data is clear, under Trump's policy, the Islamic Republic, struggled to pay its proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah.
"Trump's Iran policy drove down both Iranian oil revenues and exports. Through his strategy of cost imposition Tehran struggled to pay its proxies and even keep some of its propaganda stations afloat," said Taleblu.
Trump's statement that the attack on Israel would not have happened with him as president is not new.
Speaking on Iran International's podcast Eye for Iran, which aired before the final night of the RNC, Trump's former National security advisor, John Bolton, said nobody knows what would have happened.
"It's one of those Trump statements that's neither provable nor disprovable. Nobody knows because he wasn't president," said Bolton.
Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran said Trump understands how to make US adversaries fear the American president.
"There is an important strategic logic to that dynamic. This is something that President Biden has struggled with. This can be seen after Biden warned Iran with “Don’t,” Tehran still launched the first direct attack on Israel since 1979," said Brodsky.
