Keep up the pressure

What else happened in Iran-related news last week?

By JPOST EDITORIAL
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the crowd of people in Yazd, Iran (photo credit: REUTERS)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the crowd of people in Yazd, Iran
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Last week, ambassadors from the UK, France and Germany wrote a letter to the UN last week, alleging that Iran developed “nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and related technologies” inconsistent with UN resolutions against Tehran, “the latest in a long series of advances in Iranian ballistic missile technology.”
The letter specifically mentioned tests on a new Shahab-3 ballistic missile, capable of delivering a nuclear weapon, that has a range of 965 km. (600 miles) and can deliver a payload of at least 500 kg. (1102 lbs.).
The letter listed three other actions Iran has taken in contradiction to UN Resolution 2231, which calls on Iran not to “undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology.”
The examples are the launch of a ballistic missile on July 24, reportedly a Shahab-3, the launch of a Borkan-3 liquid-propelled medium-range ballistic missile by Houthi rebels in Yemen, armed by Iran, and on August 29, the unsuccessful launch of a Safir satellite.
Israel plans to present a full list of Iranian violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the world powers’ nuclear agreement with Iran, at a UN Security Council meeting on December 19.
What else happened in Iran-related news last week?
US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said the mullahs’ regime may have killed as many as 1,000 protesters in the demonstrations that began three weeks ago following a 50% hike in gas prices. “We know for certain it is many, many hundreds,” Hook said.
Iran even cut off Internet for days, so that the government could kill protesters without the world learning about it, but word soon got out.
Of course, Iran continues trying to build its power in Syria and funding the Hezbollah terrorists in Syria and Lebanon, as usual.
In light of the letter to the UN, one might think that Paris, Berlin and London are doing what they can to curb Iran’s belligerence.
But the same countries that penned that letter are the founders of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), which a Paris-based sanctions-busting group meant to allow Iran to continue importing oil and other goods.
And only a few days before their letter to the UN, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden became INSTEX shareholders.
It is shameful for those countries to be working to enrich a corrupt, violent, terrorist-supporting Iranian government at any time, but it’s an even greater disgrace to do so at a time when it is gunning down regime opponents on the street.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during his trip to Lisbon to discuss defense against Iran with US: “That is wrong. They should be ashamed of themselves. While people are risking their lives and dying on the streets of Tehran, they are giving sustenance and support to this radical regime.”
Iran’s murderous ways are not limited to protesters on the streets in Iran, but extend from Iran to Syria to Lebanon and Gaza, and even beyond the Middle East, to Argentina, for example, where Iran was behind the bombing of the AMIA Jewish center.
The correct response to the tyrants of Tehran is not to reward them for sowing death and destruction. The world should be working to encourage the courageous protesters and discourage the regime from continuing to put its money toward deadly causes that do not help their people.
First and foremost, sanctions should be respected and not circumvented.
While Iran continues to develop nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and precision-guided munitions and targets people around the world, the pressure must be increased, not relieved.


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