The Iranian regime has enjoyed appeasement from the West for years despite its outright belligerence across the region. Former President Obama was so keen to keep the Iran nuclear deal in place that he turned a blind eye to many nefarious acts that the regime was responsible for. He also ignored blatant issues that should have been addressed, or at least acknowledged, like the poor human rights record in the country.
When President Trump took office, he made it clear that he would not be passive like his predecessor. He has identified Iran as a major problem in the Middle East and has vowed to tackle the issue.
Iran’s bellicosity in the region has been going on for decades. During the eighties, it was behind an attack on the US Embassy and barracks in Beirut. During the nineties it was behind the attack on the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. And these are just a few incidents.
When Obama pulled all US troops out of Iraq, he basically handed the country over to Iran. He pulled them out too soon and gave Iran the opportunity to further its export of the revolution with the help of several extremist proxy groups.
Because of the inaction of the US, and the rest of the West, Iran has been able to have free reign over the entire Middle East and has terrorised Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Afghanistan.
It has been reported recently that Iran has been supplying weapons to the Yemeni Houthis. It has also been providing the group with drugs which it sells to create revenue to keep the soldiers on the ground. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is present in Syria where it helps the Houthis smuggle weapons.
They are now using waters in the Gulf near Kuwait to get past an arms shipment embargo. It allows Iranian ships to move equipment to smaller vessels in areas where there are less inspections. This will often be in the waters around Kuwait.
Iran has been provoking US vessels in the area and many believe that these are attempts to see how President Trump will react. Last month, an Iranian vessel approached a US Navy ship which eventually had to fire warning shots.
The Trump administration is showing that it is committed to curbing the Iranian threat. He is taking steps that aim to limit Iran’s actions. This is contrary to that of Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief who is travelling to Iran for the inauguration of President Hassan Rouhani. Trump is at least showing Iran that its actions will have consequences. Mogherini is content to continue with the blind eye policy.
A new initiative has just been signed into law by Trump that will impose tight restrictions on Iran and its IRGC is being treated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group. Foreign companies will have to seriously consider the consequences of carrying out business transactions with Tehran.
Furthermore, many are calling for trade relations with Iran to be halted until it stops violating the human rights of its own people. They also call for Iranian forces to be removed from Iraq and Syria and for the ballistic missile program to be stopped.
Source » ncr-iran