Belligerant Iran Tests Ballistic Missile & Convicts American Journalist

Iran Convicts American  Washington
Post Correspondent Jason Rezaian

Today in Washington, D.C.- Oct 14, 2015:

Congress is on their Columbus Day recess. Yes recess (: Supposedly meeting with constituents. The Senate will reconvene for on Monday, Oct 19. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has filed for cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 2146, a bill that would penalize “sanctuary cities” which refuse to abide by immigration laws. A vote on moving to the bill will be held when the Senate returns.

The House met proforma yesterday for 4 minutes and will do so again on Oct 16. The full House will reconvene on Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Regarding Iran!
The Wall Street Journal editors write, “President Obama and his foreign-policy admirers — a dwindling lot — hoped that the nuclear deal would make Iran more open to cooperation in the Middle East and with the U.S. Mark this down as another case in which the world is disappointing the American President.

“Iran’s judiciary on Monday announced that Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent, has been convicted. He was on trial for ‘espionage.’ Security forces arrested Mr. Rezaian and his wife, journalist Yeganeh Salehi, in July 2014. Ms. Salehi was later released, but the regime has held Mr. Rezaian ‘in a black hole for 14 months,’ as his brother, Ali, told us. Mr. Rezaian, a U.S. citizen, has been denied even the basic rights the regime sometimes affords political prisoners, including bail and phone calls. . . .

“Mr. Rezaian’s brother also told us that ‘I’d like the U.S. government to say [about Jason’s detention]: This kind of behavior has consequences. Up to now this has had no consequences. What have been the consequences? It hasn’t stopped them from getting their nuclear deal. And it hasn’t stopped them from getting over half a billion a month in sanctions relief since we started talking to them.’”

Hose Speaker Boehner expressed frustration over President Obama failure to garner the release of Mr. Rezaian, "President Obama’s gamble that a nuclear deal would lead to a more responsible Iran has already failed. This sham of a trial violated every international standard and made a mockery of Iran’s own legal system. Jason Rezaian is known by many in Tehran – including Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif – as a ‘good’ and ‘decent’ reporter. But that didn’t protect him from being tortured, abused, and wrongly convicted by the same regime that will be trusted to inspect itself under a nuclear deal that will give Iran legitimacy and billions in cash. President Obama needs to think long and hard before moving forward."

In addition, the WSJ editors continue, “On Sunday the regime tested a new long-range, guided ballistic missile code-named Emad (‘Pillar’) in violation of the nuclear deal. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231—which passed shortly after the agreement to harmonize its provisions with international law — prohibits Iran from conducting ballistic-missile work for eight years. But the mullahs are nothing if not impatient, and the Islamic Republic has already made clear that it doesn’t intend to abide by the provisions of Resolution 2231 it dislikes.”

Indeed, according to CNN, “Iran's test this weekend of a new surface-to-surface ballistic missile ‘likely’ violated a U.N. resolution, an administration official told CNN on Monday. Based on information the administration has so far, the test appears to be in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929, which stipulates that Iran cannot engage in any activities related to ballistic missiles. . . .

“Over the weekend, state-run media reported that Iran successfully test-fired a new precision-guided, long-range missile. The Emad (Pillar) surface-to-surface missile, designed and built by Iranian experts, is the country's first long-range missile that can be precision-guided until it reaches its target, said Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan, Iran's defense minister. The Emad would be Tehran's first precision-guided missile with the range to reach its enemy, Israel.”

Of course, CNN notes, “The administration official emphasized, however, that the test is not in violation of the nuclear agreement reached in July between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers because that accord is focused on restricting Iran's path to a nuclear weapon.”

Makes one wonder what Sec. Kerry was doing in Iran?

Thus we see the vindication of the prediction by The Wall Street Journal editors: “Testifying before the Senate over the summer, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry repeatedly vowed to sanction Iran if it cheated on missiles. Well, here’s an early test case, Mr. Secretary. The more likely outcome is that the Obama Administration will find a way to explain that the missile test doesn’t violate the nuclear accord that Mr. Obama considers a crowning achievement.”

“Meanwhile,” they conclude, “Iran’s government will bank up to $150 billion that it can deploy to back its militia proxies in the Middle East. Add the new Iran-Russia offensive in Syria, and Tehran would appear to have taken the nuclear deal as a signal that it can now do whatever it wants without consequence.”

Speaking with radio host John Catsimatidis this weekend, “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell railed against President Obama's foreign policy on Sunday, calling his philosophy ‘mind-boggling’ and evidence of a belief in ‘American retreat around the world.’ . . . The Kentucky Republican said the president has ushered in ‘a genuine meltdown of American foreign policy across the board’ . . . ‘You name the country. Where are we in better shape now than we were when he came to office? Nowhere,’...”

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