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As the General Michael Flynns political star sets amidst continued controversy, the Trump administration is facing its first foreign policy tests less than a month after the inauguration. Unsurprisingly, the two actors who are actively testing President Trumps resolve come straight from George W. Bushs axis of evil: Iran and North Korea, two of Americas most implacable adversaries.

What is more intriguing is whether the two are coordinating their ballistic missile tests and how much support they are receiving from their sugar daddies in Moscow and Beijing.

Future sanctions may involve not just the two terror-supporting states, but companies in Russia and China that are working to boost the missile efforts in both countries. Beyond that, the administration may consider broader deployment of missile defenses in the Middle East, South Korea, and Japan, and potentially, U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in vicinity of the two aggressors.

North Korea recently testedthe Pukguksong-2, mobile medium-to-long range missile capable of reaching Japan, with the estimated range of over 500 kilometers. Analysts believethat this missile, a modification of a submarine-launched model, is solid-fuel, which means it takes much less time to prepare and fire than an older, liquid fuel models. Kim also claims to developan intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking U.S. homeland.

And then there is Iran. Sources in the Arab Gulf suggest that Tehran may be involved in testing its nuclear weapons and developing its ICBMs in North Korea. Since Trumps election, the Islamic Republic has testedtwo medium range ballistic missiles, violatingthe spirit of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which codified the Obama administration-initiated Iran nuclear program compromise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Being derivatives of the Soviet SCUD-B missile and the North Korean No Dong, these weapons can become nuclear-capable.

The North Korean launch was timed to coincide with the visit by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mar-a-Lago, the Winter White House, with the clear aim of disrupting the visit. The Iranian launches were likely timed to send a signal to the U.S. and in invitation to test its mettle.

It is also significant that the patrons of the two aggressor states were also tested: Russia by Iran, and China by North Korea. Both came to the aid of the provocateurs. Moscow announcedthat Iran did not violate the UN Security Council resolution. Beijing took matters one step further. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang accused the U.S. and South Korea of responsibility for the missile tests.

As a reaction to the provocation from Teheran, Gen. Flynn put Iranon notice, while the Treasury Department imposed rather mild sanctions on 25 Iranian individuals and companies.

So, what can the Trump administration do? As it is being tested by bullies, the administration needs to show the perpetrators the limits of their disruptive behavior, and the U.S. allies need to be called to help. This means it is Washingtons turn, too, to test its allies. It also needs to reach out to Moscow and Beijing.

The Trump administration and U.S. allies also need to broaden their focus from Irans nuclear program to take in Teherans aggressive and disruptive behavior in the Middle East. Today, four Arab capitals: Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sanaa, are effectively being controlled by Teheran. Moreover, Iran is a strategic ally of Russia in the Middle East, and it allowsRussian bombers to use its air space for air strikes in Syria.

The Europeans need to limit their rush to trade with Iran by conditioning investment in the Iranian economy on cessation of the missile program and expanding JCPOA to permanently stop uranium enrichment.

The IRGC, which runs the missile testing and production, as well as the nuclear program, need all their numerous businesses sanctioned inside and outside Iran. This should include IRGC leaders, their family members, and their businesses.

Any companies that do business with Irans military proxies, such as Lebanese and Iraqi Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels, which threaten navigation off the coasts of Yemen and at the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb straits, should also be sanctioned.

North Korea, in turn, is a strategic lever of China that is used to apply pressure on South Korea, Japan and the United States, while allowing Beijing plausible deniability. This needs to stop.

The Asian-Pacific countries should join the U.S. in sanctioning the North Korean regime and especially its leadership. Sources of hard currency for North Korea need to be intercepted and shut down, be it from legal or illicit activities, such as cheap labor exports to ASEAN and the Arab Gulf countries, or drug trade.

All countries concerned should shame Iran and North Korea for their persistent and brutal violations of human rights.

North Korea and Iran will not react to sweet talk. The bullies in Teheran and Pyongyang need to be stopped by a steadfast application of pressure, and sooner rather than later.

Ariel Cohen, PhD, is Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and Director, Center for Energy, Natural Resources and Geopolitics at the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security.

The views expressed by this author are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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Trump's trials: Iran and North Korea - The Hill (blog)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards

Reuters

Iran is continuing its verbal attacks on the United States, with the latest comments coming on Saturday from Mohammad Pakpour, a commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Speaking at a press conference in Tehran and quoted by the semiofficial Fars news agency, the commander warned American officials to be wise and stop threatening Iran with military aggression.

"U.S. statesmen should be very wise and avoid threatening Iran because the entire world has admitted this fact that the Americans cannot do such a thing," said Pakpour, who added that attacking Iran would be unwise.

Tensions between Washington and Iran have risen in recent weeks, after the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on 25 individuals and companies connected to Iran's ballistic missile program and those providing support to the Revolutionary Guard Corps' Qods Force.

The sanctions came in response to a ballistic missile test conducted by Iran last week, in violation of UN Resolution 2231, which bars Iran from conducting ballistic missile tests for eight years and which went into effect after the nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers was signed.

Irans Foreign Ministry reacted angrily to the sanctions, vowing that it too would ensure "legal restrictions" were imposed on the "American individuals and companies which have a role in aiding extremist and terrorist groups or contribute to the suppression and murder of the defenseless people in the region.

The countrys Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, later dismissed calls from the Trump administration to cease the countrys ballistic missile tests, and said that Trump had showed the "true face" of America.

Iran has also threatened to attack Israel in response to an American attack on Iran. A senior Iranian official recently threatened his country would immediately strike Israel if the United States "makes a mistake" noting that "only 7 minutes is needed for the Iranian missile to hit Tel Aviv."

Read the original post:
Iranian commander: Attacking us would be 'unwise' - Arutz Sheva

Liberman and Zarif. (photo credit:MARC ISRAEL SELLEM,REUTERS)

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said Sunday that Iran would never seek to build a nuclear weapon, taking an apparent shot at Israel for being the true nuclear-armed actor endangering the region.

Without naming Israel specifically, Zarif said at the Munich Security Council that there were certain non-members of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty who were spreading accusations about the Iranian nuclear threat.

"They have the audacity" to talk about the Iranian nuclear threat when they are "the destabilizing force in the region," Zarif said.

"We will never produce nuclear weapons, period," Zarif said. The Iranian foreign minister added that Iran had committed to this in the nuclear deal signed with world powers, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but has yet to receive the reciprocal fulfilling of the deal from the other side. "The international community still owes us," Zarif stated.

In apparent response to US President Donald Trump's comments that he was putting Iran "on notice" over ballistic missile tests last month, Zarif stated that, "We do not respond well to threats."

Zarif said that under so-called "crippling sanctions," intended to curb Iran's construction of centrifuges for enriching uranium, Iran had gone from having 200 centrifuges to having some 20,000 centrifuges.

"We don't respond to threats, we respond to mutual respect," Zarif said.

Republican US Senator Lindsay Graham, speaking on a panel at the conference immediately after Zarif, said that not a word the Iranian foreign minister was saying should be believed.

"They've been trying to build a nuclear weapon," Graham said. "If they say they haven't, they're lying."

"You don't build a secret nuclear facility if you don't want to build a nuclear weapon," he added.

Graham said that Iran was "a bad actor in the greatest sense of the word when it comes to the region," calling Tehran out specifically for supporting Hezbollah and writing "Death to Israel" on its missiles.

"I think it it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly in terms of what theyve done outside the nuclear program," Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee stated.

Graham said he and other Republicans would introduce measures to hold Iran accountable for its actions.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman was originally supposed to speak on the same panel as Zarif, however the event was changed and he spoke later in the day after the Iranian foreign minister.

The defense minister accused Iran of trying to undermine stability in every country in the Middle East.

Liberman called the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, Qassem Suleimani, "the number one terrorist in the world."

Liberman said that Israel has not seen more moderate behavior from Iran since the signing of the JCPOA. To the contary, he stated, since the signing of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Israel has seen: a competition organized in Tehran for the best Holocaust denial cartoon, with a prize of $50,000; parades in Tehran featuring ballistic missiles with Hebrew inscriptions, reading 'Israel must be wiped out'; a State Department report finding that Iran is the number one state sponsor of terror in the world; Iranian development of ballistic missiles in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231; the persecution of Iran's ethnic and religious minorities; and 600 executions in 2016, often with little or no due process of law.

The defense minister said that the Iran nuclear deal was "an attempt to avoid reality," and we were seeing similar results to what the nuclear deal with North Korea has yielded.

He called for world powers to enforce a policy of economic pressure, tough policy and following through on UN resolutions, such as in the case of Iran carrying out ballistic missile tests.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister also accused Tehran of being the main sponsor of terrorism in the world and a destabilizing force in the Middle East.

"Iran remains the single main sponsor of terrorism in the world," Adel al-Jubeir told delegates at the Munich Security Conference. "Its determined to upend the order in Middle East ... (and) until and unless Iran changes its behavior it would be very difficult to deal with a country like this."

Al-Jubeir said Iran was propping up the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, funding the Houthi separatists in Yemen and violent groups across the region. He said the international community needed to set clear "red lines" to halt Iran's actions.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Zarif takes apparent shot at Israeli 'audacity,' says Iran will never develop nukes - Jerusalem Post Israel News

The United States will stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons that can be used against it or Israel, Vice President Mike Pence told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, just days after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

Under President [Donald] Trump, the US will remain fully committed to ensuring that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon capable of threatening our country [or] our allies in the region, especially Israel, Pence said.

The issue of Irans threat to the region, Israel and the US was a priority in the series of high-level meetings held in Washington last week, as Netanyahu made his first visit to the Capitol since Trump was inaugurated last month.

Netanyahu plans to brief the cabinet about his trip at its weekly meeting on Sunday, before he departs for Australia.

While in Washington, Netanyahu spoke with Trump, Pence and congressmen about the dangers of Irans nuclear program and his belief that the deal the Obama administration and five other world powers worked out with Tehran in 2015 to curb its nuclear capacity doesnt mitigate that threat.

While the Obama administration had dismissed Netanyahus concerns, Trump and his administration are supportive.

Just before landing in Israel on Friday, Netanyahu told reporters on the plane that Israels strategic security interests in the region will be improved as a result of his three-day trip to Washington.

There is a joint strategic understanding and deep friendship, Netanyahu said of his conversation with Trump on Wednesday. The two men have known each other since the 1980s.

It was an excellent meeting.

It will have a large impact on our security, said Netanyahu, adding that under the Trump administration US-Israel ties, which are already strong, will be vastly improved.

Netanyahu said there will be joint follow-up meetings between his staff and members of the Trump administration on the issues that were raised during his trip. Aside from Iran, there were also security discussions on Syria, ISIS and terrorism.

In his weekly address to the American people on Friday, Trump said, The United States also reaffirmed our unbreakable bond this week with our cherished ally, Israel.

It was an honor to welcome my friend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.

I affirmed to the prime minister Americas commitment to working with Israel and our allies and partners toward greater security and stability. The threat of terrorism and believe me, it is a threat must be confronted and defeated, and we will defeat it.

We share with Israel a deep conviction that we must protect all innocent human life, Trump said.

In an interview with Fox News before leaving Washington on Thursday, Netanyahu said the meeting with Trump was an historic one, best described as a meeting of the minds and of the hearts.

Israel and the US always had a strong alliance, Netanyahu said, but now we have an even stronger alliance.

There is a change coming to the Middle East when it comes to Israels relationship with its neighbors due to the rise of radical Islam, with ISIS leading radical Sunnis and Iran leading radical Shiites, Netanyahu said.

The moderate Arab world is threatened by both, Netanyahu continued, as he explained that these countries view Israel as a country with a strong military that can stand against these threats, particularly Irans quest for hegemony in the region.

As a result, they do not view us as their enemy but increasingly they see us as their ally against a common threat, the prime minister said. In my conversation yesterday with President Trump, he saw things in the same way and that opens up opportunities, he added.

With regard to the nuclear deal with Iran, Netanyahu said Iran has become more dangerous since it was signed, is better funded and has sponsored more terrorism.

Now they are going to build ICBMs that can reach the US and have the multiple warheads to do that. That is horrible, it is dangerous for America, dangerous for Israel and dangerous for the Arabs.

Everyone now understands it and there is an American president that understands, and we are talking about what to do about this common threat, Netanyahu said.

At Wednesdays joint press conference with Netanyahu, Trump said, One of the worst deals Ive ever seen is the Iran deal. My administration has already imposed new sanctions on Iran, and I will do more to prevent Iran from ever developing I mean ever a nuclear weapon.

During Netanyahus time in Washington, there were issues raised that remain unresolved, including Israeli settlement construction and a request for the US to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

The US has asked Israel to hold back on settlement building. A mechanism is now being developed between the two governments, with the help of Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer, to come to an agreement with regard to such activity.

In an interview with Channel 2 on Friday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said it was important to reach such an understanding with the US. He also cautioned politicians to refrain from their calls for unlimited building in Judea and Samaria, or to annex portions of Area C of the West Bank.

If someone thinks that you can apply Israeli sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria or the blocs or build indefinitely without an understanding with the White House, he is mistaken, Liberman said.

In an interview with Channel 2 on Friday, Liberman said it is important to reach such an understanding with the US. He also cautioned politicians to refrain from their calls for unlimited building in Judea and Samaria or to annex portions of Area C of the West Bank.

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Pence: Iran won't have nuclear weapons to use against US or Israel - Jerusalem Post Israel News

From the Swedish governments website:

Sweden has the first feminist government in the world. This means that gender equality is central to the Governments priorities in decision-making and resource allocation. A feminist government ensures that a gender equality perspective is brought into policy-making on a broad front, both nationally and internationally. Women and men must have the same power to shape society and their own lives. This is a human right and a matter of democracy and justice.

And then this happened.

BBC:

The Swedish government has defended its decision to have its officials wear headscarves during a trip to Iran, saying that failing to do so would have broken the law. Trade Minister Ann Linde led a business team last week and faced criticism for wearing a headscarf, or hijab.

A prominent Iranian womens rights activist and Swedish politicians have criticised the decision.

It is ruinous to what is called a feminist foreign policy said Liberal party chief Jan Bjorklund, who said Iran oppressed women through legislation.

The Swedish government should have requested that female members of the delegation should not have been required to wear a headscarf, he said, and that if the request were not granted any trade agreements should have been signed in Sweden or a third country.

But Ms Linde told the Aftonbladet newspaper that she was not willing to break Iranian law. She said that since the only other option would be to send an all-male delegation, she was required to wear a headscarf.

UN Watch has been on this story from the beginning. In one post (take the time to take a look at the photos it includes of the Swedish delegation, clad not only in headscarves, but wearing long coats indoors) UN Watch notes how Swedens female leaders ignored the recent appeal by Iranian womens right activist Masih Alinejad who urged Europeans female politicians to stand for their own dignity and to refuse to kowtow to the compulsory Hijab while visiting Iran.

By contrast:

[In] the same week as the Swedes wore their Hijabs, Tehran hosted the world competition in womens chess, a number of young female chess champions from around the world gave up their chance to win a world prize because they refused to submit to the required Hijab and Irans discrimination against women.

And then:

Trade minister Linde, who signed multiple agreements with Iranian ministers while wearing a veil, sees no conflict between her governments human rights policy and signing trade deals with an oppressive dictatorship that tortures prisoners, persecutes gays, and is a leading executioner of minors.

Swedens foreign minister Margot Wallstrom, an unimpressive, notoriously dogmatic character with an unfortunate weakness for groupthink who (naturally!) previously served as an EU commissioner, defended her colleagues collective kowtow by drawing a comparison between their wearing the hijab on a trade mission and wearing a kippah when visiting a synagogue. Thats a comparison that fails to draw a distinction between a place of worship and a nation, a distinction, of course, that Irans theocrats deny, with, it would now seem, Wallstroms support if, perhaps, only accidentally: She has something of a track record of how shall I put this clumsiness.

So what was going on here? Partly it was simply a matter of business. Follow the money: The Swedes wanted those trade deals, and if that meant selling out Irans oppressed women, that was just too bad.

But there was something else at play too. The gesture of respect by the government team to the Iranian theocracy was also a form of virtue-signaling to people back home, a message to signify their openness to customs very alien to the traditions of their native land (although, in the light of the way that Sweden ran its immigration policy in recent years, that may change), an openness that, in the end, slammed a door in the face of freedom.

I dont want to go all Godwin on you (and the comparison is very far from exact), but here, via Vice, is a story from 1938:

[o]n 14 May 1938, the English national football [soccer] team played Germany in front of 110,000 spectators at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. It was the opening game of their tour of Europe and began with a powerful political statement.

Top-ranking Nazis such as Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess and Joseph Goebbels were in attendance for the match, though Hitler himself was not present. When the German national anthem was played before the game, Englands players raised their arms to give the Nazi Heil Hitler salute.

Then as now, sport and politics were inextricably linked. The English players had been instructed before the match that they should give the salute, with the order coming direct from the Foreign Office. It was later reported that the team initially refused, only for the British Ambassador to Germany, Sir Neville Henderson, to intervene. Using FA Secretary Stanley Rous (later FIFA President) as an intermediary, Henderson told the team to give the salute for the sake of Anglo-German relations.

Just showing respect, of course.

Read more here:
Iran: Sweden's 'Feminist' Government Submits - National Review