EMBARRASSING: Europeans Realizing Trump Was Right About Iran, by Hank
Berrien, 12/6/18.
It must be murder for them to admit it, but suddenly Western
European leaders are realizing President Trump was right about ditching the
Iran nuclear treaty.
On Tuesday, diplomats from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands,
and France expressed their concern because of an Iranian medium-range
ballistic missile test on Saturday.
The U.S. government stated that the missile Iran tested could
reach Europe and the Middle East. According to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,
the missile could carry multiple warheads and violated Security Council
Resolution 2231, which instructed Iran to refrain from “any activity related to
ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons,
including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”
That Security Council resolution was the implementation of the
2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPoA). President Trump walked away from the deal last May, although China,
France, Germany, Russia and the U.K. stayed with the deal.
But after the missile test, the U.K. and France called a
closed-door meeting of the Security Council. The government of France stated, “France is concerned by
the launch of a medium-range ballistic missile by Iran on Saturday. It condemns
this provocative and destabilizing act. France reiterates that the Iranian
ballistic missile program is not in compliance with UNSCR 2231 (2015). It calls
on Iran to immediately cease any activity related to ballistic missiles
designed to be able to carry nuclear weapons, including launches using
ballistic missile technology.”
As Fox
News reports,
the European ambassadors joined in expressing their concern: U.K. Ambassador
Karen Pierce called the actions "part and parcel of Iran's destabilizing activities
in the region." Her comments echo U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who
said Saturday that he was “deeply concerned by Iran’s actions," even as he
reiterated support for the nuclear deal. “Provocative, threatening and
inconsistent with UNSCR 2231. Our support for JCPoA in no way lessens our
concern at Iran’s destabilizing missile program and determination that it
should cease,” he tweeted.
Dutch Ambassador Karel van Oosterom added, “This kind of ballistic
missile activity is inconsistent with the JCPoA , especially Annex B which
calls on Iran not to engage in these kinds of activities.” Even French Ambassador
François Delattre avowed the test was "inconsistent" with the
resolution, urging Iran to "immediately cease any activity related to
ballistic missiles designed to be able to carry nuclear weapons, including
launches using ballistic missile technology."
Still, the group displayed its usual pusillanimous attitude when
it came to Iran, with the resolution stating it only “calls upon” Iran to stop
its ballistic tests instead of demanding a cessation.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, in her typically blunt
manner, stated that the ballistic test was "dangerous and concerning, but
not surprising" adding, “The United States has repeatedly warned the world
about Iran’s deliberate efforts to destabilize the Middle East and defy
international norms. The international community cannot keep turning a blind
eye every time Iran blatantly ignores Security Council resolutions. If the
Security Council is serious about holding Iran accountable and enforcing our
resolutions, then at a minimum we should be able to deliver a unanimous
condemnation of this provocative missile test."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), echoed, “The United States has only begun to
reverse the damage done by Obama's Iran nuclear deal, which gave the Ayatollahs
the resources and diplomatic breathing room to build more and better ballistic
missiles. The last round of sanctions, while important, clearly failed to deter
Iran from advancing their missile program. It's time to totally cut off Iran
from the global financial system and deny them the resources they're using to
threaten us and our allies.”
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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