This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Ari Fuld, whose one year anniversary of his untimely murder was this week. Ari, 45 and a father of 4, who went to live in Israel from the United States, and enlisted in the IDF, was a hero. While out shopping near his home in the Jerusalem suburb of Efrat, he was attacked for the crime of being a Jew. With a fatal stab wound to his back, Ari used every last ounce of strength to fight off the terrorist who had attacked him, to prevent him from murdering any more innocent Jews. May his memory be a blessing.
During the post-U.S. removal from the Iran deal, the Iranian regime has behaved abysmally, even by its already low standards.
While Iranian President Rouhani was touring Europe, demanding that the Europeans provide funding to Iran, his regime was planning a terror attack in Europe, which might have led to hundreds of European and American casualties.
The Iranian Islamic Republican Guard Corps and their allies have grabbed, harassed, or bombed international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz or in the Bab al Mandab. They have also shot down a U.S. drone, and even grabbed hostages.
The Iranian leadership has continued its ballistic missile testing, which goes hand and hand with nuclear weapons development. The Iranian leadership has refused to cooperate with the IAEA, barring them from inspecting some nuclear weapons development sites that were recently exposed by Israel. The Iranian regime, which is the leading state sponsor of terrorism, has been expanding its support to militia/terror groups in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen to menace Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and other U.S. allies. And the Iranian regime has been smuggling oil through the U.S. or European sanctions (on Syria).
The Iranian leadership has “partially withdrawn” from the Iran deal, by violating key parts of the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), most recently by using advanced centrifuges in uranium enrichment. Not that this makes any sense — there is no such thing as a partial withdrawal. A nation may only withdraw, or not withdraw, from a deal. Nevertheless, to cease its partial withdrawal, Tehran has demanded that the U.S. lift the sanctions and return to a 5+1 format involving the nuclear deal parties, and that the Europeans must “either buy oil or give us credit,” within a certain time.
And most recently, Iran was behind the attacks on major Saudi oil facilities that cut global oil supplies by 5%.
So, what is Europe’s response to all this bad behavior? Nothing but more appeasement.
By Adam Turner
General Counsel and Legislative Affairs Director
The Endowment for Middle East Truth September 18, 2019
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