If you want to shape Iran’s behaviour, think like its leaders, US senator tells Trump

“If you want to shape Iran’s behaviour, you have to think like its leaders,” he urged in an article published on Friday. 

He also pointed out that the basis for sanctioning Iran could also be used to sanction other regional powers, before urging Trump to rethink how effective it really is in achieving US policy aims.

“As I read through these new Iran sanctions, there are several areas that strike me as curious. I find it intriguing that every one of these areas could equally apply to Saudi Arabia. As we look at the ballistic missile section, we recall that Saudi Arabia also has ballistic missiles, the Dong Feng-3s and -21s. Where are they pointed? Tel Aviv and Tehran,” he wrote.

"If you really want to get rid of their ballistic-missile programme, we should look at who else in the region they perceive as a threat. I do not think they really perceive us as a threat," he added.

The comments come after plans to re-impose sanctions on Iran were revealed towards the end of May, following Tehran's unveiling of a construction of an underground ballistic missile facility.

"We will use everything within our power to put additional sanctions on Iran, Syria and North Korea to protect American lives," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the House Ways and Means Committee on the administration's budget proposal.

He added that his department is reviewing the licenses required by US aviation giants Boeing and Airbus to sell airplanes to Iran.