- ‘Iran does not pose a serious threat to the United States’ and ‘Iran can play an active role in the Middle East’
A pillar in the case for wholesale engagement is that Iran does not pose a serious threat to the United States. Despite its missile advances, its proxies and its facility with asymmetrical warfare, it is argued that the regime’s conventional forces are antiquated compared to those of the United States and its allies in the region. Engagement advocates also maintain that Iran is no longer much of a terrorist concern, particularly compared to the hydra-like, decentralized Sunni jihadist threat, which gets inspiration from a host of Gulf actors, notably Saudi Arabia.
