Editorial: US Keeps Forgetting the Same Lesson on Iran

Iran has been offered a fresh chance to act like a "normal country"—again—and the Wall Street Journal editorial board is deeply skeptical. The piece dissects Vice President JD Vance's media blitz in support of the Trump administration's new deal with Tehran, built around his oft-repeated line that if Iran behaves like a normal state, it will be treated like one and welcomed into the global economy. The problem is that "every US president since 1979 has had the same wish, only to discover the regime had other plans," write the editors.

The board walks through its examples, starting with Jimmy Carter and continuing through Joe Biden. The editorial argues that each opening was met not with moderation but with terrorism, proxy wars, and nuclear advances. Now it's President Trump's turn again. He and Vance "seem to believe that the lure of gleaming hotels and $300 billion in investment is enough for the regime to abandon its revolutionary cause." But Tehran could have had these things all along. "If Iran really is committed to a new direction, it shouldn't take 60 days to find out," the editors write. "If the regime won't abandon its nuclear program, it prefers revolution." Read the full editorial.