By Jubin Katiraie
The United States has reiterated that the Iranian government is “the world’s leading state sponsor of terror” and called on the international community to come together to ensure that agreements restricting the “regime’s” malign behaviour are not allowed to expire.
These agreements include a travel ban on Qasem Soleimani, the head of the brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a group the US already designated as a terrorist entity, and a freeze on allowing Iran to sell weapons or buy military equipment.
A statement on the State Department website reads: “Soon after [October 18, 2020], the Iranian regime will be free to sell weapons to anyone, including terrorist proxies, and countries like Russia and China will be able to sell the Iranian regime tanks, missiles, and air defence equipment. This could start a new arms race in the Middle East and further destabilize the region and the world.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted: “The clock is ticking. Time remaining before the UN arms embargo on Iran expires and Qasem Soleimani’s travel ban ends. We urge our allies and partners to increase the pressure on the Iranian regime until it stops its destabilizing behaviour.”
The statement explains that the Tehran’s “malign behaviour and support for terrorist proxies” has been allowed to grow basically unchecked for over 40 years.
The 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was supposed to stop Iran’s aggression after it was implemented by giving sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on the Regime’s nuclear program. In reality, it did nothing of the sort. The statement says that the JCPOA only gave the Regime more resources and money that were used to expand the Regime’s power over the Middle East, fund terror cells, and build ballistic missiles.
The statement read: “This is why the United States left the JCPOA and implemented decisive sanctions to curb the regime’s ability to fund terror.”
Indeed, over the past 15 months, since pulling out of the nuclear deal, the US has imposed major sanctions against Iran, especially its lucrative oil industry. This has crippled the economy and the Regime could soon buckle under the pressure and be forced to come back to the negotiating table. It could even cause the Regime to collapse and allow the Resistance to take over.
The statement read: “The international community must stand together against the Iranian regime’s support for terror. Time is ticking.”
