ANALYSIS/OPINION:

President Obama and his negotiators have willfully harmed the national security of the United States in a naive and reckless bid to improve relations with Iran. The recent nuclear ‘deal’ negotiated with the real Islamic State was conducted in the face of calls for the destruction of Israel, support of terrorism globally, military aggression in the Middle East, the development of intercontinental ballistic missile technology, and daily calls for ‘Death to America.’

The release of long held American political prisoners was not even obtained in exchange for the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and the possibility of earning much more as sanctions are lifted. The agreement ensures Iran will become a nuclear power in a few years and have the ability to mortally threaten its neighbors, Europe, and the United States homeland.

Instead of becoming less aggressive on the international stage and especially to the United States, the Shia theocracy has embarked on a series of flagrant violations of the ‘deal’ in reality and in spirit. Recent Iranian missiles tests are a perfect example of this development. The test firing of a long-range, precision guided, surface-to-surface, ballistic missile is in violation of U.N. resolutions and the spirit of the recently signed ‘deal’ to supposedly prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. According to CNN, the only reason the missile test does not violate the nuclear deal is that the deal is not yet in effect. The Imad ballistic missile will have the range to hit Iran’s long stated nemesis, the Jewish State of Israel. CNN also reports that an administration official has even admitted that the test violated U.N. mandates.

It gets worse. Last week, Iran arrested and imprisoned another American citizen, bringing the believed total of U.S. political prisoners to four. Siamak Namazi, an Iranian American, was thrown into jail and his home was ransacked. This comes on the heels of the conviction of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian for espionage.

At the end of October, Iran promised to send a ‘fleet of warships’ to the Atlantic coast to confront the American navy. Although obviously, this claim of capability is ridiculous, the intent is not and is a poke in the eye in the face of the Obama administration’s weakness on the Iranian issue and the refusal to see reality.

The most serious move however by Iran, has been the deployment of thousands of fighters to the Syrian civil war to support the Assad regime. This is in addition to Iranian backed Hezbollah fighters that have been involved in the conflict for quite some time supporting the government. Iranian militias are also running rampant in Iraq, even occupying, in conjunction with Russian forces, American built command facilities in-country.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has banned further talks between Iran and the United States. U.S. News and World Report reported this week the Iranian parliament voted to continue the ‘Death to America’ slogan, that is chanted at prayers and protests.

Obviously Iran does not intend to become a partner with the United States. They are behaving as if they are an enemy, which they still are. It is also obvious, they are using the Obama administration to gain time in their effort to become a regional hegemon that can threaten our allies and eventually the national security of the United States.

The only question is why the White House is allowing this to happen. Either they are extremely naive and unserious about American security, or the agenda is much more sinister.

Sign up for Daily Opinion Newsletter Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.