Iran: the Present and Future Enemy

There are times when I get an almost surreal feeling that we are hurtling toward Armageddon. In the midst of American negotiations with Iran on limiting their nuclear program, international inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have just reported that Iran has increased its fissile uranium supply over the past 18 months by approximately 20%. The Obama administration had told us that the Iranians had frozen their program during this time. Why would Iran do this while they are still developing intercontinental ballistic missiles to carry nuclear warheads? You can find that little tidbit in this unclassified Pentagon report dated January 2015. Although it was prepared this last January, it was not delivered to Congress as required by law until this month. Reportedly, the reason for the late delivery was that the Obama administration did not want to upset the Iranians while the nuclear talks were ongoing.

The aforementioned Pentagon report also had these interesting things to say about Iran’s military and naval activities:

• Iran’s covert activities appear to be continuing unabated. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) remains a key tool of lran’s foreign policy and power projection, particularly in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Yemen. IRGC-QF has continued efforts to improve its access within foreign countries and its ability to carry out terrorist attacks to safeguard or advance Iran’s interests.
• Iran continues to develop its capabilities to control the Strait of Hormuz and avenues of approach in the event of a military conflict. It is quietly fielding increasingly lethal weapon systems, including more advanced naval mines, small but capable submarines, armed unmanned aerial vehicles, coastal defense cruise missile batteries, attack craft, and antiship-capable missiles.
• Since the Iran-Iraq War, Tehran has placed significant emphasis on developing and fielding ballistic missiles to counter perceived threats from Israel and U.S. and allied forces in the Middle East and to project power. Iran has a substantial inventory of missiles capable of reaching targets throughout the region, including U.S. military bases and Israel, and the regime continues to develop more sophisticated missiles. Iran has publicly stated it intends to launch a space launch vehicle as early as this year (2015), which could be capable of intercontinental ballistic missile ranges if configured as such.

Meanwhile the Iranians have been very busy in much of the Middle East. They have been very visible in giving military support to Iraq against ISIS (see here and here). On the one hand it is gratifying that the Iranians are opposing ISIS. So much so that even the U.S. is giving Iran direct air support against the common ISIS enemy. On the other hand it is distressing to see Iran get its hooks into Iraq. If matters do not change, it would seem likely that Iraq, or at least the Shiite part, would fall into the suzerainty of Iran.

In addition to their involvement in Iraq, Iran continues to support their proxy Hesbollah and their ally Bashar Al Assad in Syria. Beyond that Iran seeks to gain control of Yemen to partially encircle Saudi Arabia with itself, Yemen, Oman, and Iraq. Since Iran is assiduously developing nuclear weapons, is it any wonder that Saudi Arabia might urgently develop nuclear weapons of their own? (See here and here and here.) All of a sudden Armageddon does not seem like such a remote possibility.

Iran has also been reported providing military aid to the Taliban in Afghanistan across their common border. (Also see here and here.)

However, Iran’s activity is not limited to the Middle East and Asia. Iran is also seeking to spread its influence to South America, particularly to Venezuela, from which Iran has received supply of uranium, and to Uruguay and Argentina.

Given all of this evidence of an imperial intent on the part of Iran, it is a great mystery as to why the U.S. would trust Iran enough to negotiate with them. How can they not see that Iran has no real interest in a modus vivendi with the West, or that they are playing Obama for a sucker? It would seem that Obama’s ideological beliefs do not agree well with actual reality.

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