By Bonnie Kristian
After blaming Iran for a September strike on Saudi oil facilities,Washington retaliated with a secret cyberattack, U.S. officials revealed to Reuters. Though few details of the digital attack are available, the unnamed sources indicated that it targeted “physical hardware” and was designed to limit Iranian “propaganda.”
This cyberattack is but the latest salvo in what the report describes as the White House’s effort “to counter what it sees as Iranian aggression without spiraling into a broader conflict.” Re-imposition of heavy U.S. sanctions previously lifted under the Iran nuclear deal are part of the same project to coerce compliance from Tehran.
But as the last few months of multiplying Iranian provocations have demonstrated, this dual strategy of cyber and economic warfare is risky and has proven counterproductive. It encourages escalation and has resulted in increased Iranian aggression. Indeed, the “maximum pressure” approach plays into Iranian hardliners’ narrative of American antagonism, bankrupting Tehran’s moderates of their political capital. It makes peace more difficult to achieve. Diplomacy and strength, not digital and economic warfare, will deliver what we want from Iran.
This piece was originally published by The American Conservative on November 12, 2019. Read more HERE.