“During Saddam’s imposed war on #Iran, If the Ba’thi enemies had entered Iran, they would show no mercy towards anything or anyone,” Ayatollah Khamenei wrote in another tweet. “Iran’s situation would be worse off than today’s #Libya or #Syria.”

The United States, Saudi Arabia and the other Persian Gulf monarchies are all backing the rebels fighting the Iranian-backed government in Syria.

In Libya, NATO led a bombing campaign that helped remove Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011, and both the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have continued to back allied groups inside Libya in the continuing civil strife there.

“The Iranian nation will forever owe the dear martyrs, who left behind their homes and families, to stand against the wicked enemies backed by westerners, easterners, as well as reactionaries of the region,” Ayatollah Khamenei wrote, apparently in another reference to the Iran-Iraq war.

His remarks came a day after President Trump criticized Iran, saying the country’s leaders had repressed their people for years. Mr. Trump again addressed the situation there on Tuesday, in another Twitter post that appeared shortly after the supreme leader’s, in which he expressed solidarity with the Iranian people, even though he has sought to prevent them from entering the United States.

That drew an angry response from Iran, with Bahram Qasemi, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, describing Mr. Trump’s comments as insulting, useless and counterproductive, the state news media reported.

“It is better for him to try to address the internal issues, like the murder of scores killed on a daily basis in the United States during armed clashes and shootings, as well as millions of the homeless and hungry people in the country,” Mr. Qasemi said, according to the state-run news agency IRNA.

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The protests are the largest in Iran since 2009, during the so-called Green Movement, which took place after the election of the hard-line leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and transitioned into a wider protest against the country’s leadership.

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The latest demonstrations, which largely seemed to come out of nowhere and have surprised the authorities with their size and intensity, appear to be rooted in anger toward President Hassan Rouhani, who is regarded as a moderate, and his inability to bring change to an economy that has long suffered under the weight of sanctions.

As the protests have continued, however, they have taken on a political bent directed at the establishment, with demonstrators calling for the death of Mr. Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei.

Mr. Rouhani has tried to acknowledge the protesters’ complaints, asking them to avoid violence while saying they had a right to be heard, but others in the government have called for a firmer response.

Brig. Gen Esmaeil Kowsari, deputy chief of the main Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps base in Tehran, told the semiofficial news agency ISNA: “If this situation continues, the officials will definitely make some decisions, and at that point this business will be finished.”

Iran is battling with the Saudi-led Persian Gulf states for dominance across several unstable countries around the region.

In addition to providing military support for Damascus against Syrian rebels who receive backing from Gulf states, Tehran is providing aid to Houthis in Yemen who are fighting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Iran has provided support for protesters and militants opposing the Saudi-backed monarchy in Bahrain, and Iran-assisted factions dominate the politics of Lebanon and Iraq against opponents Saudi Arabia backs.

In most cases, the contest for power plays out through sectarian rivalries. Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf monarchs are backing fellow Sunni Muslims in each arena, and the Shiite government of Iran is backing Shiites in Lebanon, Iraq and Bahrain, as well as allied heterodox Muslim sects like the Alawites in Syria or the Houthis in Yemen.

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As we begin 2018, President TrumpDonald John TrumpHouse Democrat slams Donald Trump Jr. for ‘serious case of amnesia’ after testimony Skier Lindsey Vonn: I don’t want to represent Trump at Olympics Poll: 4 in 10 Republicans think senior Trump advisers had improper dealings with Russia MORE claims he is picking up speed after the late December passage of tax cut legislation.

But the tax cut is even less popular than the president. And his approval rating is the lowest in history for any first-year president.

The real problem is that tax cuts for the rich are not what candidate Trump promised his populist supporters.

Trump said he was going to raise taxes on the rich and eliminate deductions that favored the investor class, while cutting taxes on the middle class.

He also said he was going to end the carried interest deduction that allows hedge fund millionaires to pay at a lower tax rate than working-class Americans.

The bill Trump signed does the exact opposite. It gives a big tax cut to the rich and allows the carried interest deduction to remain.

Trump has distracted the nation with his clown show while the “too big to fail” crowd of corporate lobbyists, the Chamber of Commerce and the Koch brothers passed a tax bill to make themselves even richer.

This is a triumph for establishment Republicans.

For most of 2017, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellGOP strategist donates to Alabama Democrat McConnell names Senate GOP tax conferees Brent Budowsky: A plea to Alabama voters MORE (R-Ky.) and Speaker Paul RyanPaul Davis RyanMcConnell names Senate GOP tax conferees House Republican: ‘I worry about both sides’ of the aisle on DACA Overnight Health Care: 3.6M signed up for ObamaCare in first month | Ryan pledges ‘entitlement reform’ next year | Dems push for more money to fight opioids MORE (R-Wis.) were ridiculed on right-wing talk radio and conservative websites for not advancing the Trump agenda. The Republican Congress’s approval ratings sank lower than Trump’s.

But in retrospect, it looks as if McConnell and Ryan never cared about their low ratings. They wanted the president to fill up the front pages with his attacks on them, as well as bluster, bullying and scandal.

It allowed them to work without the glare of public scrutiny for a rushed tax bill that gives small, temporary breaks to Trump’s “forgotten” working people while the wealthiest one percent of taxpayers get 83 percent of the benefit.

Establishment Republicans also let Trump have the spotlight while working in the dark to advance three other long-held agenda items.

Firstly, allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve; secondly, repealing the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act; and thirdly, pushing poorly qualified but pro-business and anti-regulation judges onto federal courts.

Establishment Republicans plan to use Trump as a distraction once again in 2018.

While Trump is caught up battling the special counsel probe into alleged collusion between his 2016 campaign and Russia, McConnell and Ryan plan to cut federal spending on social safety net programs, including welfare, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

These are politically popular programs. Trump promised during the 2016 campaign not to cut Social Security. But now the populist politician will again be reneging on a pledge.

He is being repositioned by the GOP establishment into demanding smaller government and making their case that starving big government begins by cutting spending on domestic programs.

Trump and the Republican majority in Congress will not mention their 2017 tax cuts that drove up the deficit by more than $1 trillion.

These Republican bait and switch games are urgent with the midterm elections approaching. Democrats are likely to make gains that could halt the GOP establishment agenda.

A Quinnipiac poll taken before Christmas found Democrats with a 15-point advantage on the 2018 generic Congressional ballot question, 52 to 37. 

Charlie Cook wrote recently in the Cook Political Report that the GOP is facing “enormous” problems heading into the new year. “The odds of them losing the House are now at least 50-50 and the Senate is in real doubt.”

Democrats need a net gain of 24 House seats to wrest back control. 

Twenty-three districts currently represented by GOP congressmen voted for Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonGrassley blasts Democrats over unwillingness to probe Clinton GOP lawmakers cite new allegations of political bias in FBI Top intel Dem: Trump Jr. refused to answer questions about Trump Tower discussions with father MORE over Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Seven of them are in deep-blue California.  

When control of the House flipped from Democrats to Republicans in 1994, the GOP picked up 54 seats. In 2006, the Democrats won control of the House by picking up 31 seats. In 2010, control switched again with the GOP netting 63 seats.

The GOP has something of a “red wall” in the House through years of gerrymandered districts by Republican governors and state legislatures.

But as the 2016 election proved with Hillary Clinton’s fabled “blue wall” in the electoral college, walls work great — until they are breached. 

One of the most underreported stories of 2017 was the failure of Republicans to recruit top-tier candidates with name recognition and fundraising prowess to run for these seats. Democrats are growing in confidence as they see the second and third-rate Republican contenders.

And Democrats need a confidence boost. They are defending an unenviable 26 Senate seats — one more than expected, because there will be a special election in Minnesota as a result of Sen. Al FrankenAlan (Al) Stuart FrankenDemocrats turn on Al Franken Schumer called, met with Franken and told him to resign Overnight Finance: Trump says shutdown ‘could happen’ | Ryan, conservatives inch closer to spending deal | Senate approves motion to go to tax conference | Ryan promises ‘entitlement reform’ in 2018 MORE‘s (D) resignation — while the GOP is defending only eight.

Trump gave his conservative supporters heartburn earlier this year when he struck a temporary spending deal with Congressional Democrats.

It is good that Trump appears to get along so well with “Chuck and Nancy” — Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerCharles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerAmerica isn’t ready to let Sessions off his leash Schumer celebrates New York Giants firing head coach: ‘About time’ GOP should reject the left’s pessimism and the deficit trigger MORE (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy PelosiNancy Patricia D’Alesandro PelosiMcConnell names Senate GOP tax conferees Abortion-rights group endorses Nadler in race to replace Conyers on Judiciary Trump rips Dems a day ahead of key White House meeting MORE (D-Calif.).

The smart money says he will be spending a lot more time with them when they are Senate Majority Leader and Speaker this time next year. 

By then, the Republican Establishment will be done with the Trump show. 

Juan Williams is an author, and a political analyst for Fox News Channel.

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Mr. Moon has repeatedly called for dialogue with the North, hoping that talks would ease tensions and lead to broader international negotiations to end its nuclear weapons program.

Hours after Mr. Kim’s speech, Mr. Moon’s office welcomed the North’s proposal.

“We have already expressed our willingness to engage in a dialogue with North Korea at any time, in any place and in any format, as long as both sides can discuss restoring their relations and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” said Park Soo-hyun, Mr. Moon’s spokesman.

Mr. Trump, on the other hand, has stressed maximum pressure and sanctions, and even suggested possible military action to force the North to give up its nuclear arsenal.

Mr. Moon officially supports the enforcement of United Nations sanctions. In recent weeks, his government has seized two oil tankers on the suspicion that they were used in violation of the sanctions to smuggle refined petroleum products into North Korea through ship-to-ship transfers on the high seas.

But the South Korean president also agrees with China and Russia that talks are needed to resolve the nuclear crisis. Mr. Kim’s sudden peace overture on Monday will probably encourage both South Korea and China to raise their voices for dialogue.

“Kim Jong-un is using the Pyeongchang Olympics as a way to weaken the sanctions,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul. “He is seeking to create a fissure between Seoul and Washington and between Washington and Beijing.”

In his speech, Mr. Kim warned that he had “a nuclear button” in his office that could send intercontinental ballistic missiles, ICBMs, hurtling toward any point in the mainland United States. He also vowed to increase production of nuclear-capable missiles.

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On Nov. 29, when the North launched an ICBM with engines powerful enough to send a warhead to the East Coast of the United States, North Korea already claimed to have completed its nuclear arsenal.

Analysts have said that the North has yet to master the missile technology needed to protect a nuclear warhead when it re-enters the earth’s atmosphere from space. They said that despite the North’s claim to have completed its weapons program, the regime was likely to conduct more weapons tests to improve its capabilities.

But in addition to improving its weapons technology, the North also wants to ease crippling sanctions that limit fuel supplies and hard currency entering the country.

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In recent years, while ignoring South Korea, North Korea has pursued opportunities for talks with Washington. But those efforts have not created a long-term solution.

The United States is not interested in holding talks that lack a clear commitment from the North to discuss denuclearization. The North, however, insists on being recognized as a nuclear state.

“After getting nowhere with the Americans, North Korea is now trying to start talks with South Korea first and then use that as a channel to start dialogue with the United States,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

The isolated North made major strides last year in its nuclear weapons program. On Sept. 3, it detonated what it called a hydrogen bomb in its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. It has also launched three intercontinental ballistic missiles in the past year.

But the country has also faced harsh sanctions from the United Nations Security Council. The Council has sought to squeeze North Korea’s main sources of foreign currency by banning its exports of coal, iron ore and sea products and curtailing the employment of North Koreans in other countries. It has also demanded that member nations drastically reduce exports of refined oil to North Korea.

While gas prices in the North more than doubled in 2017, analysts said the country could feel more pain this year, depending on how stringently the sanctions are enforced, especially by China, the North’s primary trading partner.

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Hard-liners in South Korea and the United States fear that if dialogue on the Korean Peninsula creates a temporary reprieve from tensions, the enforcement of sanctions could also be relaxed. Officials in the Moon administration said that they were aware of the North’s strategy and that they closely coordinate their moves with Washington.

For Mr. Moon, the inter-Korean talks would provide a badly needed respite after a year in which Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump regularly exchanged threats of war. Mr. Trump has said he could unleash “fire and fury” and “totally destroy North Korea,” while North Korea has suggested it could conduct a hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific.

Increasingly anxious over a possible armed conflict, Mr. Moon seeks to create a lull in the nuclear standoff during the Olympics and use its momentum to start talks with North Korea. Such talks, he hopes, might eventually lead to broader negotiations in which the United States, China and other regional stakeholders could offer economic and diplomatic incentives to the North in return for the freeze and eventual dismantling of its nuclear weapons program.

Last month, Mr. Moon proposed that South Korea and the United States postpone joint military exercises that were expected to start in February if North Korea suspended weapons tests in the weeks leading up to the Olympics.

Analysts said that in any future talks North Korea would seek major concessions, like the easing of sanctions and a reduction of the American military presence on the Korean Peninsula. In return, the North would probably try to force Washington to accept a compromise by offering to freeze or give up its ICBMs, while keeping other nuclear assets as leverage.

On Monday, Mr. Kim urged South Korea to cease joint military exercises with the United States, adding that the Americans would never dare start a war with North Korea.

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute, a South Korean think tank, said: “In this year’s New Year’s Day speech, he is more confident than ever about a nuclear deterrent against the United States. It is based on that confidence that he is proposing to improve ties with South Korea.”

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