(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Matthew Levitt - When the Iran deal (JCPOA) was implemented in January, terrorism-related sanctions remained in place against Iran, and U.S. officials promised they would hold Tehran accountable for any such activity despite the lifting of nuclear sanctions. As Secretary of State John Kerry noted on Jan. 21, "If we catch them funding terrorism, they're going to have a problem with the United States Congress and with other people, obviously." Yet it is clear that Iran's support for terrorism has only increased since the deal was reached a year ago. In March, CENTCOM chief Gen. Joseph Votel testified that Iran had become "more aggressive in the days since the agreement." According to a November report issued by the Congressional Research Service, "Iran has apparently sought to rebuild the relationship with Hamas by providing missile technology that Hamas used to construct its own rockets, and by helping it rebuild tunnels destroyed in the [2014] conflict with Israel." Despite this rapprochement with Hamas, Iran continued its sponsorship of al-Sabirin, a new proxy militant group in Gaza. Al-Sabirin reportedly receives $10 million a year from Tehran. Members have also apparently converted to Shia Islam, despite operating in Sunni-majority Gaza. In December, al-Sabirin claimed responsibility for an explosion that targeted Israeli forces on the border with Gaza. The writer is director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.
2016-07-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive