A New Dawn on the World Stage: How Trump Will Deal with Iran

JERUSALEM, Israel – Just days after Donald Trump's inauguration, Iran launched a ballistic missile test, violating a U.N. resolution. A quick White House response showed Iran and the world it's not business as usual in Washington.

A ballistic missile launch in late January may have been Iran's way of testing the reaction time of the new Trump administration. It didn't take long to find out.

"Putting Iran on notice is making good use of the bully pulpit and not letting Iran off the hook," said Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior Iran analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.  
 
After the ballistic missile test, Fox News reported that Iran launched a short-range missile, but just days ago Iran removed another ballistic missile from its launch pad.    
 
"It remains to be seen if that was a direct response to the Trump administration saying Iran was on notice or if it was a technical issue … that made them remove the missile, but I think Iran should be cautious," Taleblu said.
 
Many Middle East analysts believe appeasement isn't the way to deal with Iran.

"Strength works, and I think the Iranian regime would be the first ones to tell you that," Dan Diker with the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs told CBN News. "Remember that when Ronald Reagan became president … the Iranians released all the American hostages for fear under Ronald Reagan the United States would take military action."   
 
This new attitude represents a major departure from the way President Barack Obama dealt with the mullahs in Tehran. It also puts Israel and the U.S. on the same page.

"For the first time in eight years Israel and its greatest ally, the United States, see the Middle East in very similar ways," Diker said. "The number one threat to Middle Eastern stability and security is the Islamic Republic of Iran and their nuclear-backed surge to regional dominance."
   
The Iranian threat may seem remote to people in Europe and the United States, but it's a different story here in Israel. An Iranian official boasted that one of its ballistic missiles could reach Israel in seven minutes.

"The Islamic Republic is virulently anti-Semitic," Taleblu said. "When it tested ballistic missiles in March of 2014, on one of them was the phrase that said in Persian and Hebrew Israel must be washed off the pages of history or the pages of time."

Ten years ago Diker warned of the looming Iranian threat.

"It's like an octopus spreading its tentacles, destabilizing almost every country in the Middle East except Israel," he said.  
 
And the end goal is to eventually threaten the United States.
 
"It targets U.S. allies in the region – its U.S. partners in the region – and seeks to unravel the U.S. national goals in the region," Taleblu explained. "It wants to change the balance of power that has arrayed against Iran in the Persian Gulf."   
 
The major question facing the Trump administration is how to address the nuclear deal with Iran.

On the campaign trail, Trump said he would repeal or renegotiate the agreement, but it remains to be seen what direction he will take as president. It's an item sure to be on the agenda when Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet next week in Washington.