The news was stark. After years of inching up to cozier relations with Iran, the Biden administration has announced it is unlocking $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for the release of five Americans held in Iranian prisons.

Understandably, early media reports are focusing on the prisoner release. Every human life is precious, and a billion dollars for each life saved squares with that. We rejoice with the families who received the news that their son or daughter or brother will soon be home.

Moreover, the Iranians have stated that the $6 billion unfrozen in South Korean banks and now transferred to Qatar will be spent solely on humanitarian projects the regime selects.

But is that the end of the story here? Without a doubt, as bad as the Biden policies have been at home, overseas they have been an unmitigated disaster. One of the clearest lessons of recent decades is that ruthless regimes use prisoners as hostages, and American presidents risk the nation’s present and future security if they incentivize bad actors.

But wait, there’s much more downside to this deal. Consider:

• To begin with, the Iranian regime is a feast of lies. Does anyone believe we have any real control over Tehran’s budget allocations? It is clear economics is not Joe Biden’s long suit, but obviously every penny the mullahs receive and spend on their version of the Red Cross frees up funds to underwrite their military projects. Is there any doubt how the mullahs will respond? C'mon, man!

• Second, every month during this administration Iranian behavior has worsened. Just recently the U.S. deployed several thousand of our Marines to serve on merchant ships in the Middle East to deter Iranian harassment of those ships. The Iranians apparently have no fear of the consequences of providing Putin and his regime with drone weapons, being used with deadly effect against Ukraine (also seeking billions more in U.S. funds).

• Nothing has changed as Iran continues its relentless campaign to acquire nuclear weapons. Viewing us as feckless, they are pursuing a course that threatens every American interest in the Middle East, including energy sources Biden policies have made us reliant on. Add to this the existential threat to our ally Israel from an emboldened Iran.

• Lastly, the Iranians have made clear their intentions to kill American leaders who have challenged their bloodthirsty policies, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, and former President Trump himself. About this consequence, frankly, Joe Biden likely is not losing any sleep. His administration is doing everything in its power to ensure Donald Trump dies in prison. The Iranians likely agree, but being assassinated by terrorists is fine by them as well.

Presidents are supposed to do what is in our nation’s best interest. Joe Biden has once again done the opposite, with incalculable risks for millions of Americans and our closest allies.

Abortion on Demand and Trans-mania — A Match Made in Hell

Advocates for life are still licking our wounds and pondering what’s next after the loss of Issue 1 in Ohio. The fight moves on to November where a radical “reproductive rights” measure will be on the Ohio ballot. As we’ve pointed out again and again, the coalition for this measure is led by Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, two groups that have opposed parental rights for decades and now embrace radical gender ideologies.

Legally, these issues are now merged in Ohio and elsewhere in the form of these radical referenda.

But the truth is that they are merged practically as well. Quietly, over the past decade Planned Parenthood has become a leading recruiter of young girls and provider of puberty-blocking drugs. The practice has immediate revenue gains for them and the additional benefit, which Margaret Sanger herself would adore, of sterilizing a swath of young people who receive these drugs and undergo surgeries.

Recently in Ohio, Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic manager and subject of the movie “Unplanned,” told a rally she thinks the Planned Parenthood clinic of the future will specialize in these gender-destroying services.

Make no mistake. This conjunction of issues is on the ballot right now in what may be America’s foremost battleground state. The Biden Administration and its radical allies are all in. We have to be all in, too.

Good News

• Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is taking steps to strengthen religious liberty and parental rights.

• Corporate DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) officers are facing growing scrutiny and layoffs as the backlash against woke policies gains momentum. The new board overseeing Walt Disney World just voted to dismantle Disney’s divisive DEI programs.

• Country music singer Craig Morgan reenlisted in the Army Reserve at age 58. Morgan wrote on social media, “Once a soldier, always a soldier. I love our country.”

• NBA star Jonathan Isaac, who stood out by standing up for our national anthem, is launching a new apparel brand called “UNITUS.”

• Southern Illinois University is paying $80,000 to settle a lawsuit for violating the First Amendment rights of a conservative student. Three professors are also required to attend a First Amendment training session.