How to Build a Counterterrorism Coalition Against Iran

Oct 26, 2026

Also published in National Interest
Flags of Iran, Hezbollah, and Lebanon are seen at a Quds Day celebration in Tehran - source: Reuters
About the Authors
Michael Jacobson
Michael Jacobson

Michael Jacobson is the Mark and Wayne Levy Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute's Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

Matthew Levitt
Matthew Levitt

Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.

Articles & Testimony

By tapping into the $300 million that Congress has earmarked to bolster CT capabilities abroad, the Trump administration can help partners disrupt Iranian and Hezbollah financing schemes in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, West Africa, South America, and other locales.

Speaking in late August at the launch of Operation Economic Outcast, the Treasury Department’s new financial campaign targeting Iran, Secretary Scott Bessent set a high bar: “Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.” Coupled with a naval blockade preventing the export of Iranian oil, the department’s new effort is arguably the most aggressive of its kind to date. And yet, it cannot reach its full potential without complementary diplomacy and foreign assistance. Washington cannot achieve these ambitious goals alone, but it can make major progress by building a coalition of the willing and capable...

Read the full article on the National Interest website.

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Topics

Terrorism

Regions & Countries

Iran