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In What Way Is Iran a Reliable Negotiating Partner?
(Wall Street Journal) Chris Stewart - For an international agreement to hold, both parties must be viewed as reliable partners who want the agreement to succeed. Any nation can and will cheat on an agreement if it determines that doing so is in its national interest. Iran is a state sponsor of terror and has been officially listed as such for more than 30 years. It has developed an extensive military-industrial complex and has become the primary supplier of weapons to two other state sponsors of terror, Sudan and Syria, as well as the primary sponsor of other foreign terrorist organizations, including Hizbullah, Hamas and numerous Shiite militias in Iraq. Tehran's regime is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. military personnel in Iraq through improvised explosive devices supplied to Shiite militias in the past decade. Iran counts as close allies Russia, China and North Korea, which team with the regime in developing ballistic missiles and nuclear capabilities. In South and Central America it has engaged in money laundering, drug and arms trafficking, counterfeiting, promoting jihad, and plotting terrorist attacks. When considering the above facts, not to mention Iran's recent backing of the coup in Yemen, how can we believe Iran is a trusted and reliable partner? Even with the most rigorous verification agreement, if one party wants to circumvent inspections or international treaties, it is always possible. We have to look no further than North Korea, Pakistan and India, all of which secretly developed nuclear weapons despite international agreements. Iranian leaders have covertly waged war on the West for many years. They certainly consider us their enemies. Rep. Chris Stewart (R., Utah) sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.