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It Does No Good to Expect the Best from Iran
(The Hill) Bob Blackman MP - Through its repeated test-firings of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, its provision of weapons to foreign conflict zones, and its general antagonism toward Western powers and the world community, the Islamic Republic has clearly been violating the "spirit" of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement concluded by Iran and six world powers last July. Various indicators have included a rising tide of executions and politically motivated arrests, as well as Tehran's undiminished sponsorship of terrorism and its escalating involvement in the affairs of Middle Eastern countries including Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon. According to the well-reasoned conclusion in a July 18 UN report, Tehran's activities are still at odds with the interests of most democratic nations. Whereas the Western powers had hoped to provide concessions in order to promote the evolution of a kinder, gentler and friendlier Islamic Republic, what they got instead was a regime that is taking advantage of a financial windfall to go on doing whatever it wants, while also crying foul any time anyone dares to criticize and oppose it. The writer is a Conservative member of the UK House of Commons.