The Patriot Post® · Iran Is Following in North Korea's Footsteps
Lately, North Korea’s saber-rattling has garnered most of the attention concerning nuclear proliferation. If anything, Iran — which is covertly working in lockstep with its North Korean allies to attain nuclear weapons — welcomes this diversion. The similarities between the two nations are striking. Nuclear “deals” were struck by two former Democrat administrations — Bill Clinton entered a nuclear agreement with North Korea in 1994, and Barack Obama did likewise with Iran in 2015 — yet both agreements have done literally nothing to deter these regimes’ belligerent behavior.
The latest evidence that Iran is ready to make its hoodwinking official comes via President Hassan Rouhani, who has just declared: “If America wants to go back to [pre-deal sanctions], Iran would certainly return in a short time — not a week or a month but within hours — to conditions more advanced than before the start of negotiations.” Of course, we already know Iran is cheating, and the truth is that it has continued advancing its nuclear weapons program despite because of the ill-fated deal. No wonder Rouhani says his country “would certainly return … to conditions more advanced than before the start of negotiations.”
Donald Trump acknowledges this reality too. Even though his administration last month re-affirmed that Iran is conforming to the deal, Trump recently admitted to The Wall Street Journal, “If it was up to me, I would have had them noncompliant 180 days ago.” In other words: Time is ticking. Iran will not continue to be re-certified. Rouhani knows it, which explains his intensifying rhetoric.
It’s also noteworthy that Iran is expanding its military muscle in conjunction with its rhetoric. According to The Washington Free Beacon, “Iran is preparing to send a flotilla of warships to the Atlantic Ocean following the announcement of a massive $500 million investment in war spending, according to Iranian leaders, who say the military moves are in response to recent efforts by the United States to impose a package of new economic sanctions on Tehran.” Recall that Obama’s deal led to nearly $2 billion going directly to Iran’s coffers. That money is unquestionably being used by the Iranians to beef up their nuclear program and military presence to, ironically, retaliate against the U.S.
Despite their ideological differences, Iran and North Korea are united in their hatred of America. And they’ve both managed to dupe our leaders to get what they want. And whatever nuclear achievement one nation achieves is being conveyed to the other. That’s why we can’t address one of them without implicating the other. As if nuclear threats weren’t bad enough, the decades-long policy of appeasement has metastasized into a dual nuclear menace.