The Hill: Trump's Iran sanctions signal resolve to maintain nuclear deal
On Friday the Treasury Department added 13 persons and 12 entities to their Specially Designated Nationals list for supporting “Iranian destabilizing activity.” According to National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, the sanctions communicate the end of “turning a blind eye to Iran’s hostile and belligerent actions toward the United States and the world community.”
The designations come in response to Tehran’s recent flight-testing of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, as well as the ongoing cultivation by the Quds Force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ external arm, of assets and allies throughout the Middle East.
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WNU Editor: Rhetoric aside .... the White House could have clobbered Iran with far reaching sanctions this week .... but choose not to. What's my take on why .... it is a signal to Iran from the new Trump administration that they will not be like President Obama who choose to follow a more restrained approach when it came to Iran .... and that these measures are nothing more but the White House positioning itself to respond more forcefully if Iran conducts more missile tests in the future. It is also a signal to U.S. allies in the region who are nervous with what Iran is doing, and that the U.S. will be following a different policy from the past administration. The ball is now in Iran's court .... and what they will do in the future will dictate how the U.S. will respond. My prediction .... the Iranians view their policy of missile tests and military drills as critical to their national security and sovereignty .... they will ignore these warnings from the White House. The Iranians are also going to the polls this year, and the leadership are divided. The current Iranian government is focused on developing better relations with the West, the end of sanctions, and economic reforms. On the other side ..... the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the clergy, and those who have benefited from 35 years of hostility towards the West have a different agenda, and they are now feeling threatened by these changes and reforms. These Iranian "hardliners" are using the missile tests and the response from the West to galvanise their own public opinion .... and I am willing to bet that it will work when Iranians go to the polls and if more sanctions are imposed on Iran in the coming months.
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