Iranian Aggression Since Obama Nuclear Deal Looms as 2016 Headache for Democrats

For any Democrat anxious to see the unpopular Iran nuclear agreement fade from public view between now and November 2016, it’s been a rough couple of weeks.

Headlines about the GOP Senate’s failed battle to stop the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action had all but disappeared when Iran launched an Oct. 11 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Suddenly foes of the deal were back in the news, accusing Iran of breaking the agreement.

The White House and Iran countered that the launch did not violate the nuclear deal because it does not include missile testing. Even so, a group of Senate Democrats responded with a letter to Secretary of State John F. Kerry denouncing Iran’s move as a violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929 and calling for “unilateral and multilateral responses.”

… 

Mark Dubowitz, executive director of Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the ICBM test has direct implications for Iran’s compliance with the deal, which is aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

“Iran is already in violation of the key U.N. Security Council Resolution (1929) that prohibits the development and testing of ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead,” Mr. Dubowitz said.

“This prohibition extends to the new USCR (2232) that will come into effect after Iran has complied with its nuclear commitments and that also gives effect to the JCPOA,” he said. “To permit Iran to develop with impunity one of the key elements of the nuclear trinity (ballistic missile, warhead, weapons-grade uranium) is to run a grave risk that Iran will continue on the path to the development of an atomic weapon.”

… 

Read the full article here.