The American long-range bombers had barely returned to their bases before President Trump was talking about rebuilding Iran. “They are going to need money to put that country back into shape. We want to see that happen,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday during his press conference at the NATO summit in the Netherlands. He was responding to a question about his encouraging resumed Iranian oil sales to China. 

“They got a lot of oil, they should be fine, they should be able to rebuild and do a great job,” Mr. Trump had said on the plane on the way over to the summit. The instinct is in line with the best of bipartisan American tradition. President Lincoln’s second inaugural address pointed toward a post-Civil War Reconstruction “with malice toward none with charity for all.” President Truman’s post-World War II Marshall Plan included aid to Italy, which had been part of the Axis.

In the Civil War case, though, before the South was reconstructed, General Lee surrendered at Appomattox. In World War II, the Italian fascist dictator Mussolini had been captured and executed by partisans. With Iran, the enemy leader — Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — remains in power. Many of the targets destroyed by Israel and America in the campaign against Iran were military facilities.

The targets included nuclear weapons sites, ballistic missile production factories, and air defense systems. Their reconstruction would restore Iran as a threat to American national security and to that of our allies. The Bible offers some wisdom that may be relevant. Deuteronomy 13:16 describes the scenario of Israel conquering an idolatrous city, with God commanding, “It shall remain a perpetual ruin, never to be rebuilt.” 

Yet a thorough inquiry is required before imposing such a punishment. Later Jewish sages made clear it was hardly ever to be imposed. Yet there’s underlying logic to the idea of leaving at least some war damage on display. It serves as an ongoing reminder of the consequences of sin, the costs of defeat, and the risks of war. It shows the superior power of the victors — in this case, of Israel and America.

It makes sense that the Iranian government would want to erase, as quickly as possible, the physical evidence of the American and Israeli victory. The rubble is a monument to the regime’s humiliation. It’s less readily understandable why the American government would back a rapid reconstruction. Perhaps Mr. Trump imagines that his magnanimity in victory will decrease the chances that Iran and its remaining proxies will launch more missiles, drones, or terrorist attacks at American targets or at those of our allies.

That’s delusional. Iran’s offenses — backing a Hamas terror attack on Israel, trying to assassinate American officials, pursuing nuclear weapons, attacking international shipping via proxies, shooting missiles at Israel and at American bases — were severe. If the visible damage that Israel and America inflicted as a consequence is so quickly restored, it’d erode the deterrent effect.

It’s the foreign-policy equivalent of a catch-and-release approach to immigration enforcement — a punishment so mild and temporary that it doesn’t prevent the problem. None of this is to minimize the real Israeli and American successes of the 12-Day War. The Iranian nuclear program has been destroyed, and the many Iranian generals, nuclear scientists, and Revolutionary Guard commanders who were killed are not being brought back to life. 

Yet before enthusiastically backing reconstruction of Iran, America might consider imposing some additional conditions. Putting Iran “back into shape” for real would involve not just spending money on repairing buildings and runways, but transitioning to a government that no longer threatens its neighbors or brutally oppresses the Iranian people. Only after that would it make sense to repair the ruins.