Here we go again: President Trump announces that negotiations are set with the radicals ruling Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and from there come to an agreement over neutralizing the regime’s nuclear assets and its giving up any nuclear ambitions; then Iran says no talks are set.

President Trump must resume—with Israel—the full-scale hostilities that he prematurely halted in April. If the entire intended target list had been hit, the war would have been over within weeks. Instead, the subsequent exercise of on-again, off-again talks and our military’s tit-for-tat responses to Iranian attacks make the U.S. look weak, inconsistent and unreliable. Such an image of irresolution encourages anti-American governments and terrorist groups.

Contrary to Vice President Vance’s fairy tales, Iran’s revolutionary fanatics haven’t turned over a new leaf. Their oft-stated goal to destroy Israel and the U.S. remains unaltered. Their religious fanaticism still burns hot. Any agreement with these vipers is worthless. It won’t last.

Iran—and most of the world—believes the U.S. wants out of this war in any way possible. They have concluded that this White House is consumed by the midterm elections and therefore can’t long tolerate high oil prices. That’s why Teheran is acting like a cat that’s cruelly teasing its victim mouse, the U.S.

Despite the immense damage inflicted on their country, Iran’s tyrants feel they’re winning the war. They have gained lethal leverage over the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway. Their proxy, the Houthis, have done the same with the Red Sea.

All know that whatever promises are made, Iran can quickly disrupt the Strait and hit its neighbors with rockets and drones, damaging their oil facilities and water desalination plants. The blunt truth is that if the regime survives, the U.S. will suffer a strategic defeat of global dimensions.

Tit-for-tat military strikes against Iran won’t suffice. The U.S. must complete the destruction of the original target list. It must smash all roads leading into Iran from neighboring countries. It must take the oil facilities on Kharg Island. Iran must be left with no way to export oil or disrupt the Strait of Hormuz.

One must assume we and the Israelis know of dissidents within the Iranian military and elsewhere. We should start funneling weapons to those dissidents. Opponents to the regime will act only if they become convinced that we won’t pull the rug out from under them by trying to reenter negotiations with this diabolical government.

It needs to be said again: The current Iranian regime must go. Some worry that a regime change will lead to the kind of chaos we’re seeing in Libya. They forget that Iran is currently the sower of chaos in the Middle East and around the world.