The Peace Council Conundrum

As US President Trump’s Board of Peace, which I discussed in a previous podcast, is coming more and more into focus some are thinking that Iran and all the other terrorist proxies need to be eliminated for it to work. We find out more on that view from an article in Gatestone Institute:

US President Donald J. Trump’s plan for ending the Israel-Hamas war should have included a provision to stipulate the need for a different regime in Iran. That is the fastest, best, and, unfortunately, the only way to eradicate Hamas and destroy “[a]ll military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities” not only in the Gaza Strip, as stated in Trump’s 20-point plan, but also in the Middle East.

And it makes total sense:

Trump’s plan exposes the elephant in the room: the Iranian regime. Without Iran’s support, Hamas would not have been able to transform the Gaza Strip into a large base for Jihad (holy war) against Israel. Without Iran’s support, the terror group would not have been able to overthrow the Palestinian Authority in 2007 and seize full control of the entire Gaza Strip.

Without Iran’s political, financial, and military aid, Hamas would not have been able to carry out its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, murder more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, and wound thousands more. Without Iran’s support, Hamas also would not still be in control of much of the Gaza Strip more than two years after launching its war on Israel. Without Iran’s support, there also would be no proxies—such as the Houthis, Hezbollah, and Venezuela—nor their alliances with Russia and China.

It's Not Just Iran

The article also notes there are others who are aiding and abetting Hamas:

The Iranian regime is not, of course, the only party that has been propping up Hamas for the past three decades. Qatar and Turkey, longtime supporters of Hamas, have also been reinforcing the terror group with money and diplomatic backing. Both Qatar and Turkey—followers, like Hamas, of the Muslim Brotherhood—continue to host senior Hamas officials and operatives. That is why it does not seem a prudent decision on the part of Trump to have included Qatar and Turkey on his “Board of Peace” to oversee the postwar management of the Gaza Strip.

There are others who could constitute wolves in the henhouse as well:

In addition to Qatar and Turkey, Egypt and Britain—which, sadly, has not been a dependable friend to Israel—were appointed as members of the newly established Executive Committee of the Board of Peace, chaired by Trump himself. Pakistan, a virtual hub of terrorism, has been invited to serve on the Board of Peace but, as of this writing, has not yet replied.

Not all members are wolves:

Providentially, the United Arab Emirates, which, despite extensive turbulence, has been an unwavering supporter of Trump, the US, and the West, also serves on the Executive Committee.

The issue is saying they want peace in the region while still supporting Hamas.

Like Iran, Qatar and Turkey have an interest in preserving Hamas’s presence both as a political and military entity.

As such they won’t help eradicate any vestiges of Hamas in Gaza which is a problem:

The Qataris and Turks may play a role in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, but they are totally unlikely to participate in any effort to disarm Hamas or demilitarize the territory.

Helping keep the peace in Gaza is only one part of the process. The Trump administration is only going to be around for the next three years:

The danger is that after Trump leaves office, these countries—no friends of Israel—will be irresistibly positioned to attack it.

And two countries are even getting in the way of the second phase of this deal:

According to Israeli officials, Qatar and Turkey are now “working to extract Hamas from the requirement to disarm.”

They are reportedly offering alternatives, such as Hamas giving up its weapons to the Palestinian Authority or having the weapons transferred to some kind of “secure storage” under supposed “oversight.”

“Behind both proposals,” the officials said, “lies the aim of preserving Hamas’s influence in Gaza.”

And if taking out what is left of Hamas is needed, these Arab nations are loathe to do it:

Notably, no Arab or Islamic country has so far expressed the slightest readiness to play any role in forcing Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups to surrender their weapons. Arab and Muslim leaders are likely afraid of facing a backlash from their own people, many of whom sympathize with Hamas and the Palestinian “resistance”—meaning terrorism—against Israel.

The reason is simple:

After all, so long as terror attacks are directed only against Israel, Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza do not pose a direct threat to their regimes.

The Iranian Regime Must Go

As the lead on this report states, the Board of Peace can’t work:

Since the early 1990s, the mullahs’ regime in Tehran has been sponsoring Hamas with military aid, as well as training and financial aid. Iran has remained a key patron of Hamas and provided the terror group with funds, weapons, and training. In addition, since 2006, the Iranian regime has been supporting Hamas with $350 million annually as part of the mullahs’ plan to strengthen their “axis of resistance,” which includes other Iran-backed terror proxies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi militias.

Iran also represents influence from other world powers:

With the mullahs still in place, there is every reason to believe that the strategic alliance within the “axis of resistance”—Iran, Russia, and China—will also stay in place.

And the other terrorists apart from Hamas depend on Iran and always have:

“Iran,” according to slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 massacre and known for his close ties to the Iranian regime, “is the biggest supporter of the movement, financially and militarily.”

Another slain Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was quoted as saying:

“I extend my thanks to those who provided money and weapons to the valiant resistance. Iran has not been stingy in supplying the resistance with money, weapons, and technology.”

Iran is proud of helping Hamas:

“Iranian officials have since boasted about their role in developing Hamas’s military capabilities,” the Saudi Center for Media Studies noted.

“The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Air Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, stated that “all the missiles in Gaza and Lebanon were made with Iran’s support. Iranian-backed militias across the region also expressed strong support and offered military assistance to Hamas.”

Zero Chance

We all want peace in Israel and the region, but Iran will only get in the way of it:

If Trump wants his Gaza peace plan—and his “Donroe Doctrine” revitalization of the Western Hemisphere—to succeed, he should make every effort to help the Iranian people regain their freedom from this regime as soon as possible. If the mullahs’ regime stays in power, the chances of removing Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip for any length of time will be zero.

And it’s not like the evidence for that outlook:

For decades, Tehran’s mullahs have posed a direct threat not only to Israel and the US, but also to the security and stability of Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen, Egypt, and Iraq.

And everyone should want regime change:

The current anti-regime protests in Iran should be fully supported not only by the Trump administration but also by all Western countries, as well as Arabs and Muslims.

All the other terrorists need to go as well:

If Hamas remains standing, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Iran-backed Islamist terror groups will also continue to rearm, regroup, and plan for more terrorism and bloodshed in the region.

In short Iran and its influence must be addressed in the strongest manner possible:

Trump, to succeed, needs to expand the mandate of his Board of Peace to include seeing to it that the Iranian regime departs as expeditiously as possible.

By doing so all the other proxies will be easier to defeat:

Iran’s proxies may not disappear immediately, but if and when the Iranian regime is gone, they will be significantly weakened. The removal of the mullahs would mean their eventual removal as well. Hamas still uses Iran for its weapons, military training, and technology. Although Iran is reportedly bankrupt, the mullahs will continue to pour millions of dollars on Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran cannot afford to lose its two main proxies in the Middle East.

Free all these citizens as soon as possible:

It is crucial at this juncture to free the Palestinians from the boot of Hamas and the Iranians from the boot of the mullahs. The disappearance of both would do Trumpian wonders for the entire planet.

The definition of “wolves in the henhouse” is this:

"Wolf in the hen house" is an idiom for an untrustworthy person placed in a position of trust where they can exploit or harm those they're supposed to protect, acting against the group's interests for personal gain, like a predator among vulnerable prey. It signifies a dangerous conflict of interest, where someone with a predatory nature is in charge of something they'd naturally destroy.

All of these Arab countries fit this to a tee and none more so than Iran. When we pray for the peace of Jerusalem we need to factor in this salient truth.