Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Matthew Continetti addressed the rising tensions between the United States and Iran, saying that the Middle East power is feeling the "real bite" of increased American pressure on its ability to interact with the world.
"Tensions are building, I think, illustrating two things, the first is that designating the Iran revolutionary guard corps, a terrorist organization, and also ending the waivers on sales of petroleum from some of our allies from Iran had real bite," Continetti said Tuesday during a panel discussion on Fox News Channel's Special Report with Bret Baier. "So the Iranians are trying to get us back to the negotiating table or some price in terms of national security."
Continetti's comments came in the wake of an Iran state media's announcement that it will "diminish" its commitments to the Iran nuclear deal, which the United States pulled out of in May 2018. At the same time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unscheduled visit to Iraq to assure US allies in the region of the American commitment to guarding against Iran.
It was revealed on Tuesday that the United States is sending an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region in preparation for a potential conflict. United States National Security Adviser John Bolton said the United States is acting "in response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings," according to a report from the BBC.
Continetti noted that actions like these show how deeply entrenched in the Middle East the United States has become, despite its efforts under both President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama to leave.
"It's now the policy of two subsequent administrations, Democrat and Republican, to get us out or try to, at least," Continetti said. "And you see by the Iranian moves how difficult that is because of the region's importance, strategically. Not only our allies are there, its centrality geographically, and of course, the existence of resources which we may not need because we are energy independent, but our allies definitely do."