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With a North Korea Deal in the Offing, Iran Is Becoming the Biggest Thorn in America's Side
(Telegraph-UK) Con Coughlin - The real issue with Iran is whether anyone in Tehran has any serious inclination to settle their differences with the U.S. and its allies. The ill-fated nuclear deal was supposed to lay the foundations of a new era of international cooperation on the part of the Iranians. Instead, the regime saw the deal as an opportunity to expand Iran's malign influence throughout the Arab world. Derek Maltz, the former head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Special Operations Division, told an audience of senior Arab diplomats in London Tuesday that Iranian-backed Hizbullah was involved in a multi-billion dollar global drug smuggling racket, with a significant percentage of the funds being diverted to finance terrorist operations in the Arab world and beyond. These are not the actions of a country that is interested in ending its long-standing hostility to the West. The ball is very much in the Iranians' court. They have the option of continuing to provoke Washington with threats to intensify their nuclear activities, while persisting with their terrorism funding. Or they could be smart and follow Kim Jong-un's example by seeking to de-escalate tensions with America.