Iran is still a threat to the United States even without nuclear weapons, according to top defense experts.
The despotic regime has been open about its hatred for the United States and has aided terrorist groups in Mexico and South America, as well as the Middle East. Politico reports:
Not since the fall of the Soviet Union has any nation so aggressively pursued alliances with bad actors in so many places worldwide, acknowledged Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA officer who focused primarily on Iran. "Their outreach is bolder than it used to be" and is "pretty disturbing" given "their proclivity for nefarious activity."
"They’re fighting basically a shadow war every day," Marine Gen. James Mattis, head of the military’s Central Command, told a Senate hearing last month. And now Iran is turning significant attention to the Western hemisphere – including the U.S.
"We know they are in Mexico, we know they are in Canada, we know they are in Central and South America," said Michael Braun, former chief of operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration. "Who’s better poised to carry out operations on the homeland than they are?"
Iranian officials will meet with Western leaders in Istanbul this week to resume nuclear discussions.