July 13, 2015 | Quote

Panel: The US Should Fight IRGC Aggression Regardless of Nuclear Agreement

According to experts who testified before the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee, American and Gulf State relations will be tested in the pending Iran deal, especially given the agreements which were decided at the Camp David Summit earlier this summer.

The outcome of the deal will undoubtedly trigger aggression in the region, and the United States will have to mitigate. In an attempt to re-balance power, Saudi Arabia is threatening to harness its own nuclear capability, pushing out the United States from the Middle East power vacuum.

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“The Arab Gulf states, and Saudi Arabia in particular, are in a position to redouble their efforts to build a civilian nuclear infrastructure with possible military dimensions. Individuals close to the Saudi leadership have been making reckless but unsurprising threats in this regard, suggesting that they view an Iranian nuclear deal as the starting gun in a decade-plus race to build their own nuclear capabilities to match,” David Weinberg, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said.

“It is incumbent on U.S. officials across various components of the government to unambiguously condemn these irresponsible Saudi statements and threats. It is intolerable when Tehran behaves in this manner, but it is also intolerable for U.S. allies to blackmail us with their own threats of such roguish behavior,” Weinberg said.

Weinberg said the United States will need to maintain a presence in the Middle East and certain sanctions on Iran to squelch violent conflict and ensure Iran’s restraint.

“The United States should fight aggression by the IRGC and its proxies regardless of any nuclear agreement. Without doing so, it is impossible to truly reassure our Gulf allies, and it is crucial for ensuring the stability and balance of the region. It is up to Congress and the administration to ensure that if sanctions are lifted, they are not removed from entities that remain involved in supporting terrorism in the region,” he said.

Read the full article here.

Issues:

Iran