A bad Iran deal is worse than no deal, Mr. President

Time is of the essence when it comes to ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions: Every day of delay brings the Islamic Republic a day closer to breakout.That’s why President Trump’s chief duty is to fight at all costs for a deal that will actually advance American policy interests by making sure the mullahs never go nuclear.Not to settle for a paper he can wave around as a “historic accomplishment,” as President Barack Obama did in 2015 when he inked the disastrous Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.  And speaking of Obama, let’s get his favorite fallacy on this front out of the way. Getting tough with Iran via the “maximum pressure” tactics Trump used in his first term will not make war more likely. The opposite is true: Nuclear chokeoffs, sanctions and aggressive action against any and all Iranian proxy forces that threaten US security or economic interests will deter Iran.For proof, look no further than Tehran’s relative lack of aggression during Trump’s first term vs.

the unbridled terrorist tear it went on once Joe Biden moved into the Oval Office. Trump pulled us out of the JCPOA.Droned the murderous Quds Force mastermind Gen.

Qassem Soleimani.Hit the Islamic Republic with hardcore economic punishment. In return, Tehran made apocalyptic threats but did nothing to make good on them, even after Soleimani was killed. Under Biden, who spent his entire term trying to win Iran’s love, Tehran ramped up its proxy attacks and greenlit Hamas’ Oct.

7 savagery — and massively spun up its uranium enrichment capacity.Any deal that doesn’t cripple Iran’s nuclear weapons programs, demilitarize its proxy forces and create punishing sanctions ready to snap back into place the moment Tehran puts a toe over the line will be a failure. Trump knows this, so it’s maddening that his team is already making concessions by engaging in talks without setting any preconditions.Heck, just using Steven Witkoff as the US envoy sends a bad signal: He’s a su...