{"text":[[{"start":7.05,"text":"The writer is the US secretary of the Treasury"}],[{"start":11.2,"text":"In 1943, the Allied powers convened the Tehran Conference to plot the course of an uncharted act. "}],[{"start":17.9,"text":"As Roosevelt and Churchill weighed a campaign that would culminate in the Normandy landings, they asked themselves what could be done “to bring the greatest pressure to bear on the enemy”."}],[{"start":28.549999999999997,"text":"History has returned that question to Tehran. And the moment has arrived to answer it with the full weight of American resolve."}],[{"start":36.3,"text":"President Donald Trump and the overwhelming might of our military have significantly dismantled Iran’s military capabilities and weakened its nuclear programme. Now we are entering the endgame. At dawn begins an economic D-Day — the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary. "}],[{"start":54.75,"text":"For 47 years, the Islamic republic of Iran has been a malignant force in the world. Within Iran, a corrupt regime has consigned what would be one of the world’s strongest economies to ruin and its enterprising people to repression."}],[{"start":68.65,"text":"Beyond its borders, the Iranian regime maintains a network of proxies that perpetuate its terror. The US has paid an especially grievous price but we are scarcely alone in facing this scourge. Too often, though, we find ourselves alone in our resolve to thwart it. "}],[{"start":86.35000000000001,"text":"President Trump has decimated Iran’s economy to a point where the rial has never been weaker and inflation has rarely been higher. The regime’s final refuge now lies in the self-deception of fearful nations that still believe accommodating aggression can secure a durable peace."}],[{"start":103.5,"text":"Iran’s enablers purchase and transport its petroleum. They facilitate the flow of its finances through exchange houses and free trade zones. They welcome Iran’s flights and maintain registries on its behalf. They turn a blind eye to seaborne fuel transfers and the illicit use of their banks, all while concealing the extent of their complicity."}],[{"start":123.7,"text":"In short, these countries calculate appeasement of the regime to be the safer course. But they would do well to consider the consequences of sustaining it."}],[{"start":133.25,"text":"In the 17th century, French philosopher Blaise Pascal gave enduring expression to the dilemma beneath this temptation. He understood that uncertainty does not absolve men or nations of divine judgment. In fact, it demands a more exacting appraisal of risk and imposes a higher price for error."}],[{"start":150.9,"text":"Pascal’s eponymous wager now applies to Iran’s lifelines. Nations that, in courting reprieve from Tehran, continue to replenish the very regime from which they seek protection — and now exceed the limits of America’s tolerance."}],[{"start":165.25,"text":"President Trump is doing what his predecessors refused by ending a threat they resigned themselves to managing. For decades, the political class accepted an endless cycle of provocation instead of advancing American interests. Not another generation should be condemned to the menace of fanatics who devote themselves to “death to America” and fulfilling the regime’s nuclear ambitions. And total financial isolation can obviate the need for American force while enlarging the sphere of freedom for our allies."}],[{"start":197.85,"text":"Those who sever Iran’s remaining financial and commercial connectivity will reinvigorate their own. They will deepen their access to global capital, reinforce confidence in their markets and attain the standing they seek in the world economy."}],[{"start":211.7,"text":"The alternative for those who tether themselves to Tehran is the foreclosure of any path to lasting prosperity. Illicit finance will flourish, as it so often does, where confidence has collapsed. And any nation that serves as a financial artery of a withering regime should expect to share in its isolation. To become a sanctuary for terror is to become, in the eyes of the United States, a global pariah. "}],[{"start":239.04999999999998,"text":"The Islamic republic has subsisted by dressing extortion as security guarantees. It has drawn strength from a calculus that regards Iranian retaliation as certain and American enforcement as negotiable. Under President Trump, that era is over. And those who fear the danger of defying Tehran ought not to discount the cost of testing Washington."}],[{"start":260.65,"text":"The president has created the conditions to leverage every agency, every authority and action many assumed we would never summon. Any remaining tie to Tehran will hasten the economic ostracism of countries and entities, whether that tie be purposefully constructed or wilfully ignored. And if, as the regime’s grasp on power crumbles alongside its economy, Iran resorts to military action against US forces or its Gulf neighbours, make no mistake: President Trump will respond swiftly and decisively."}],[{"start":291.84999999999997,"text":"The world should understand that our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone. Pascal considered salvation to be a choice. As a great wave of American resolve comes ashore, are Iran’s enablers willing to wager their future against it?"}],[{"start":320.5,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787531537_8380.mp3"}