New sanctions on Iran, now it's time for a new US policy too
New sanctions on #Iran, now it's time for a new US policy too
On the second anniversary of the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran nuclear deal, some
argue that the agreement succeeded in slowing Iran’s progress toward a
nuclear weapon. However, the restrictions on the Iranian nuclear program
are only limited, as is the international inspectors’ access to the
country’s illicit facilities.In addition, in areas unrelated to the
nuclear agreement,
the Iranian
regime’s behavior has only gotten worse over the past two years. The
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has escalated its nefarious
activities in Syria, Iraq, and
Yemen, has deliberately sought out close encounters with American
warships, and has boasted of new Iranian military equipment.
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The
White House’s efforts to enforce a harder line on Iran policy is well
justified and the president’s signing into law of H.R. 3364, which
included a title, “Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of
2017” is a step in the right direction.
In
June, the National Council of Resistance of Iran revealed details of
the escalation of the Iranian missile program, proving the nuclear
threat to be real. The opposition coalition identified more
than 40 sites for missile development, manufacturing, and testing, all
of which were under the control of the IRGC. What’s more, at least one
of those sites was known to be collaborating with the Organization of
Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its Farsi acronym SPND, the
institution tasked with weaponization activities related to the Iranian
nuclear weapons program. SPND activities have continued since the JDPOA.
Such
revelations clarified what should already be common knowledge: Iran’s
nuclear weapons activities have continued. Even worse, myopic focus on
the nuclear issues has distracted attention from the Iranian regime’s terrorism sponsorship, regional intervention, and human rights abuses.
If
the IRGC continues to acquire more wealth through its large-scale
control of the de-sanctioned Iranian economy, combined with continued
lack of access to the nuclear sites of SPND, Iran will undoubtedly
deliver a nuclear weapon.
To its
credit, the US. has taken steps toward addressing the underlying problem
of the IRGC’s expanding control over Iranian affairs. Soon after taking
office, Mr. Trump urged the administration to review designating the
IRGC as a terrorist organization. With the new Iran sanctions bill now
signed into law, the administration should expand all anti-terror
sanctions to the whole of the IRGC, including its affiliate entities and associated financial and economic arms.
This
is a meaningful start to a new Iran policy that is comprehensive in its
aims and in its enforcement. Toward that end, the US should work with
the UN and EU to evict the IRCG from the combat zones in Syria, Iraq,
and Yemen. This will help protect the West and its allies, as well as
empower the Iranian people, who are seeking regime change and are more
than capable of bringing it about on their own.
Without
serious sacrifice, Western powers must do their part. The Iranian
regime must be more isolated and financially handicapped by the United
States. It must also be subject to pressure not just over its nuclear
program but also over a range of current and past crimes, including
illicit missile testing, escalating regional and sectarian conflicts in
the Middle East, and the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. The
United States should subject all major human rights violators of the
Iranian regime, including dozens involved in the horrific 1988 massacre
of 30,000 political prisoners. Many of the perpetrators of this crime
currently hold key positions in the Iranian regime.
These
pressures will make a profound difference in the future of Iran, if
coupled with reaching out to the people of Iran and their organized
opposition. They will succeed in diminishing the power and influence of
the IRGC; bolster the Iranian people and the prospect of the emergence
of a truly democratic Iranian government.
Alireza Jafarzadeh,
the deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of
Resistance of Iran, is credited with exposing Iranian nuclear sites in
Natanz and Arak in 2002, triggering International Atomic Energy Agency
inspections. He is the author of "The Iran Threat" (Palgrave MacMillan:
2008). His email is Jafarzadeh@ncrius.org , and is on twitter @A_Jafarzadeh.
originally published in the foxnews
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