On Tuesday, the Iranian government test-fired ballistic missiles in violation of international agreements. When called on it, they threatened to walk away from a deal cut with the Obama administration and the G5+1 last year that freed the country of sanctions in return for commitments to stop nuclear arms development.
“If our interests are not met under the nuclear deal,” said Iranian deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi, “there will be no reason for us to continue.” The ballistic missile test came one day after news broke that the International Atomic Energy Agency had been bound by treaty not to publicly report deal violations by Iran, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
The Obama administration responded to this clear provocation with strong words: U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner stated that they would seek an “appropriate response.”
How intimidating!
Ever since the Obama administration signed the Iranian nuclear deal, the United States has become Lando Calrissian after agreeing to work with Darth Vader: the deal gets worse all the time. Here are just five aggressive moves by the Iranians in the aftermath of the deal President Obama said would ensure peace and security in the region for years to come.
Capture of American Sailors. In January, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard navy captured 10 American sailors. The Obama administration infamously claimed that the Iranians had just been helping out – Secretary of State John Kerry said, “I want to express my gratitude to Iranian authorities for their cooperation in swiftly resolving this matter.” Vice President Joe Biden said that the Americans had not apologized to the Iranians for any reason. Pictures of American soldiers on their knees, hands behind their heads, quickly emerged from the Iranians; the Iranians went on to distribute tape of an American sailor apologizing to the Iranians. The Iranians have staged parades in which they used children to re-enact the capture.
Ballistic Missile Test-Firing. Tuesday’s ballistic missile test-firing isn’t Iran’s first since signing the nuclear agreement. In October, Iran announced it had test-fired a long-range ballistic missile. The State Department stated that they were aware that Iran had done so, with spokesman John Kirby explaining that the Americans would take “appropriate actions at the United Nations if these tests violate any existing UN Security Council resolutions.” That worked so well that a few months later, Iran did it again. Experts say that ballistic missile tests violate the nuclear deal. Iran denies this. The Obama administration obviously doesn’t care.
Ramping Up Military Spending. Ever since the consummation of the Iran nuclear deal, Iran has been boosting its military spending, buying major equipment from both Russia and China. According to Adam Kredo in October, “As it gears up to receive more than $100 billion in sanctions relief under the deal, Iran has already begun to ink lucrative arms contracts with the Russian and Chinese governments, according to a new report by the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC).” RT reported last month that an aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Iran is willing to buy additional amounts [of weapons] from Russia, and the Russian government wants to positively respond to such requests as well.”
Boosting Funding For Terrorist Activities. In September, The Times of Israel reported that Iran has massively increased its spending on terror funding: “Tehran’s belief that tens, or hundreds, of billions of dollars will flow into the country in the coming years as a result of sanctions relief has led to a decision to boost the cash flow to [Hamas and Hezbollah].” A Kuwaiti newspaper reported that Hezbollah has received the same types of weapons Iran has funneled to Bashar Assad in Syria. Secretary of State John Kerry openly acknowledges that money we freed up to send to Iran will go toward funding terrorism.
Helping Bashar Assad. While the Obama administration maintains that Bashar Assad should go in Syria, the Iranian regime continues to prop Assad up. The Tower reported in September that Iran had granted Assad a $1 billion loan the week before the United States greenlit the nuclear deal with Iran; Iran did so in expectation of sanctions being lifted. For months, Iranian and Syrian forces have been using Russian air cover to fight anti-Assad insurgents under the guise of fighting ISIS.
Barack Obama’s big Iran deal was a dramatic failure. But it was destined for failure before it ever began: Obama saw the deal itself as the success, not the implementation of the deal. He believes he merits his Nobel Peace Prize simply for getting the Iranians to sign a piece of paper, even – especially – if it means putting the West on the receiving end of Iranian ordnance.
Ben Shapiro is Senior Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News, Editor-in-Chief of DailyWire.com, and The New York Times bestselling author, most recently, of the book, The People vs. Barack Obama: The Criminal Case Against The Obama Administration (Threshold Editions, June 10, 2014). Follow Ben Shapiro on Twitter @benshapiro.