OPINION:
After the White House imposed sanctions on Iran for illegal tests of ballistic missiles which can carry nuclear warheads, Iran has stated it will continue with its missile development efforts in spite of Western demands to the contrary. President Obama repeatedly stated that if the Iranians violate the nuclear agreement that sanctions would “snap back.” It is unclear whether the missile testing violates the new agreement put in place on the development of nuclear weapons but the tests are in violation of United Nations sanctions against Iran. The tests of course violate the spirit of the nuclear deal put in place over last summer.
How can Iran say It is not looking for a nuclear weapons capability when it is actively developing delivery systems which can carry nuclear warheads and target American and Western interests?
The U.S. move was “devoid of any legal or ethical legitimacy,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement reported by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. Iran will pursue its “legal missile program and upgrade its defense capabilities” with “more seriousness,” according to the statement.
The latest sanctions won’t affect development and “we will show this in practice by revealing new missile achievements,” Iran’s Defense Minister General Hossein Dehghan said according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, reported Bloomberg.
Iran continues to behave in a manner which demonstrates its intention to continue to threaten the developed world. This behavior makes the Iran nuclear deal all the more suspect and irrational. A decade from now, when Iran can continue to develop a nuclear warhead, the Islamic Republic will have the delivery systems to go along with it to possibly target the continental United States and Europe.
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