The Obama Administration’s defacto anti-ISIS partnership with Tehran is helping Iran’s Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimeni and Ayatollah Khamenei “Finlandize” Iraq. Not only does this damage U.S. interests in sustaining an independent and sovereign Iraq, but the Obama Administration’s apparent acquiescence to Iran’s regional hegemonic ambitions undermines U.S. strategic interests and threatens our partners in Jerusalem, Ankara, Riyadh, and elsewhere in the Gulf.

It would be one thing if Tehran’s behavior had moderated. It hasn’t. Iran’s ambition, malign behavior, and strategic endgame remain inimical to broader American interests. Tehran has stoked the flames while benefiting from the disorder in both Iraq and Syria. Iran’s dominance over Beirut, Damascus, and Baghdad has only increased through its strategy of fomenting upheaval, disorder, and violence — and then coming to the “rescue.” And now Tehran’s strategy is having success with the Iranian-sponsored Shia Houthis taking over parts of Yemen.