Iran tests new missiles
The fears of many are being realized as Iran breaks agreement with America
It is one of the most highly contested foreign policy agreements of all time — the Iran nuclear deal.
Missiles — Surface-to-surface ballistic missiles were tested by Iran last week. Google Images
With Congress passing a law granting legislators the power to review and vote “yay” or “nay” on the mutual agreement between Iran and the six most powerful countries in the world, thousands of American citizens flooded the voicemails and emails of their representatives on Capitol Hill, sharing their opinion on how they should vote.
Unable to block the agreement, America made a deal with a regime that has, in modern history, been no friend to our interests. It only makes one wonder what the American people are telling their representatives now with the most recent Iranian development breaking headlines.
The largest state-sponsor of terrorism, as defined by the U.S. State Department, has just recently launched surface-to-surface ballistic missiles that are in clear violation of U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1929, according to CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto. The state-run media in Iran confirmed the successful test fire Sunday, Oct. 11.
This is definitely not the first time the Islamic regime has violated international law, and many politicians in Washington argue that it will not be the last. Presidential hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio spoke on the Senate floor Oct. 16 about Iran’s violation, saying, “(This is a reminder) that President Obama’s nuclear deal does nothing to halt Iran’s missile program or get to the bottom of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons work.”
Georgia Sen. David Perdue also weighed in on Iran’s blatant activity, commenting that “the ink isn’t even dry on President Obama’s nuclear agreement and Iran is already breaking rules.”
The White House responded to these complaints by emphasizing that Iran did not violate the nuclear agreement reached over the summer by testing these missiles. Plus, even if Iran had violated the deal, U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which officially implements the deal, has not yet gone into effect.
Since the beginning, America’s greatest ally, Israel, has voiced, and continues to voice, strong opposition to this deal, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeating that this deal does not prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons but rather paves Iran’s way to a bomb.
The Iranians have also not been shy when it comes to their feelings towards the U.S. and Israel, which are known to them as the Great Satan and Little Satan respectively. Interestingly enough, four days after the agreement had been reached, a rally in Tehran featured Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — the supreme leader of Iran — praising the “slogans of the people of Iran,” according to the English translation by Iran’s Press TV.
What exactly were these slogans? The people were chanting, “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” He also went on to call Israel a “terrorist, child-killing Zionist regime” while also assuring his country that their policy will not change toward the “arrogant U.S. government.”
If history repeats itself, then predictions can be made in regards to how both Israel and Iran will respond to one of the greatest international, diplomatic conflicts to face our modern world. Will Iran comply? The very title of this editorial provides a pretty clear prediction.
This is not the first resolution Iran has broken, and it will most likely not be the last, as the testing of their surface-to-surface ballistic missiles has so generously proved. The real questions the world needs to be asking are these: Will Iran effectively and successfully hide their deceptions from the international inspectors? How will Israel respond?
Netanyahu spoke to the U.N. General Assembly earlier this month, telling them that “the days when the Jewish people remain passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over.” Israel has stood alone before in decisions of warfare and will not hesitate to do so again.
One thing is for sure: The Iran nuclear deal and Iranian refusal to change their behavior has put the only liberal democracy in the Middle East in a very uncomfortable situation, and Netanyahu has already forewarned the world that the Jewish State will not be passive.
Tomlin is an opinion writer.