What would a Bernie Sanders presidency mean for U.S. foreign policy? Observers around the world are beginning to ask this question as the socialist senator leads his rivals for the Democratic nomination. The answers are disquieting. To the extent that a Sanders administration is able to implement the policies Mr. Sanders advocated in his major foreign-policy addresses in 2017 and 2018, and that his foreign-policy adviser Matt Duss has endorsed, the new administration will seek radical changes in America’s conduct abroad.
In Tehran, hopes for a Sanders presidency are high. Like his more centrist Democratic rivals, Mr. Sanders believes that the Trump administration’s abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal was both a political and moral mistake. Sanders administration diplomats would be quick to reach out to Tehran and the Europeans to restore the Iran deal and increase Iran’s access to world markets. Given the frequent criticisms Mr. Sanders and his leading advisers level at anti-Iran powers in the Middle East—particularly Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—his White House would almost certainly look for ways to reduce U.S. arms sales and military aid to these countries, giving Iran’s regional ambitions a substantial boost.
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