Is Trump’s Jerusalem decision a winner for Iran?

Islamic Jihad gains momentum in the Gaza Strip, US-Jordan relations are shaken, US-Turkey relations worsen and Iran reaps the benefits without lifting a finger.

The fallout from US President Donald Trump’s Dec. 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is just starting to be felt, and Tehran seems ready to capitalize…

And this brings us to Iran, where Trump’s decision on Jerusalem has unified pragmatists and hard-liners. “The ultimate irony of the Jerusalem debacle is once again that Iran has been given the upper hand without having lifted a finger,” writes Reza Marashi. “Indeed, with the peace process dead, most of the world is blaming Trump, Israel and Saudi Arabia for tearing the region apart. But Jerusalem is only the latest in a long line of missteps over the past year that Iran has capitalized on. This has left Rouhani in a position in which he can now work across the political spectrum to reconnect the Islamic Republic’s ideological goal of opposing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory with its geopolitical goal of avoiding international isolation — with increased international support for both objectives. Iran may not have drawn it up this way, but it will gladly accept the freebies being handed out by Washington, Tel Aviv and Riyadh.”