Even though President Obama and John Kerry candidly admitted that the tens of billions in sanctions relief dollars that would flow to the Iranian regime as a result of his reckless and unpopular nuclear accord could be used to finance terrorism, other proponents spent a fair amount of effort downplaying those concerns. Lo and behold, Obama and Kerry's frank confessions have already proven correct. How...totally unsurprising. Our new 'peace partners' have been the world's top state sponsor of international terrorism for years, and their deadly activity has persisted "undiminished" since the agreement was forged, according to the US State Department. A boon to Islamic Jihad, courtesy of Team Smart Power -- via the Jerusalem Post:
After a two-year cessation, Iran is attempting to bring Islamic Jihad back into its fold by renewing financial support for the Palestinian terror organization, sources affiliated with the organization told the London-based daily Arab newspaper a-Sharq al-Awsat on Wednesday. Iran's decision to re-embrace Islamic Jihad after two years of strained relations, came following a visit to Iran in April by a high-level delegation from the organization, led by Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shalah. During his meetings with senior Iranian leaders and the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force Qassem Suleimani, Shalah lauded Iran for its exclusive support for the "Palestinian intifada." ...According to Suleimani's move, 70 million dollar of financial aid will now arrive directly from Revolutionary Guard's treasury to the Quds Brigades.
The story goes on to note that part of this maneuver appears a power play to influence Hamas, another terroristic beneficiary of Iran's lethal largesse, but the simple fact is that Tehran now has a much larger bank account with which to project its power and fund its malignant proxies. Congratulations, Islamic Jihad. It seems the "crazies" were right again. Meanwhile, Adam Kredo reports that the Obama administration -- ever desperate to avoid provoking the Iranian regime in any way that could complicate the president's foreign policy legacy project -- has been looking the other way on human rights abuses, in violation of their public assurances leading up to the deal:
The Obama administration has not designated a single Iranian as a human rights abuser since finalizing last summer’s comprehensive nuclear agreement, despite rising abuse in the Islamic Republic, including state-sanctioned killings and the imprisonment of opposition figures. The administration’s hesitance to use sanctions as a tool to confront Iranian human rights abuses, despite past promises made to Congress, has prompted outrage on Capitol Hill among lawmakers who were given assurances the administration would act. A senior administration official admitted during questioning on Capitol Hill Wednesday that the U.S. has not sanctioned a single Iranian human rights abuser since the deal was finalized. The disclosure calls into question further administration promises to continue using sanctions as a tool to pressure Iran...Republicans and Democrats alike are now accusing the administration of misleading Congress about its commitment to sanctions and saying that it has avoided such designations in order to prevent the Iranian regime from walking away from the deal.
The story quotes a pro-Iran deal Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee effectively accusing the White House of a bait-and-switch: “We were assured that this would give us an opportunity to push back hard in these other areas because the danger of a nuclear Iran would be off the table, and I was very persuaded by that,” said David Cicilline (D-RI). Perhaps Rep. Cicilline hasn't been paying close attention to this administration's regard for Congress or record of adherence to oft-stated promises. Speaking of dissatisfied Democrats and Iran, here is California's Brad Sherman, a vocal opponent of the accord, pressing an administration figure on the maintenance of sanctions against the regime:
Cue the "warmonger" slime jobs from Team Obama's choreographed and well-funded "echo chamber."