Rex Tillerson facing high-stakes diplomacy over Iran and North Korea — if he can keep his job 12/28/2017 1:26:00 PM Rex Tillerson has to try to rally international support for President Trumps more aggressive posture toward Iran and North Korea Washington Examiner, Dec 28, 2017  - A pair of rogue regimes with a longing for nuclear weapons promise to dominate Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s second year atop Foggy Bottom. Tillerson, in following President Trump’s distaste for former President Barack Obama’s decision-making, declared in 2017 an end to the era of “strategic patience” with Iran and North Korea. As the nation’s top diplomat, he has to try to rally international support for Trump’s more aggressive posture. Diplomacy doesn’t stop at home, though. Tillerson has to persuade Congress to support his vision for reorganizing the State Department, while maintaining his position in the administration, which has seemed precarious at times. Iran fro...

Rep. Chris Stewart: Iran takes the Middle East to the edge of war 12/28/2017 8:53:55 AM Houthi Shiite fighters ride on a vehicle as they patrol a street near the residence of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen By Rep. Chris Stewart    Washington Examiner, Dec. 28, 2017  - Last Tuesday, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched a ballistic missile against Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, the missile was intercepted and destroyed by an American-made Patriot Surface to Air Missile. Had the ballistic missile hit any number of critical targets in Riyadh, such as the U.S. Embassy, the Gulf Cooperation Council Headquarters, or, as has been targeted before, the Riyadh International Airport, an immediate escalation of the ongoing war between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels would have been inevitable. And it’s important to realize that this dangerous provocation is not an isolated incident. The Houthis ...

House votes to have Treasury Department publish Iranian leaders' assets U.S. Treasury Department building in Washington, D.C. Washington Examiner, Dec. 13, 2017  - Treasury Department officials must publish a report chronicling the financial assets of Iran’s top leaders, under a bill that passed the House on Wednesday. The legislation, which passed 289-135, must still clear the Senate before President Trump can sign it into law. It’s a potential boon to Iranian dissidents against the regime, who stand to gain insight into corruption by top officials. “Iran’s top regime leaders — the Supreme Leader and the country’s top political and military brass — have amassed huge wealth through their tyrannical rule and corrupt and covert structure,” Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, said upon introducing the legislation. “Reports have indicated these funds are being used to support and sponsor terrorism around the region and to undermine our own national security interests. Iran...

House votes to have Treasury Department publish Iranian leaders' assets 12/15/2017 9:25:21 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print U.S. Treasury Department building in Washington, D.C. Washington Examiner, Dec. 13, 2017  - Treasury Department officials must publish a report chronicling the financial assets of Iran’s top leaders, under a bill that passed the House on Wednesday. The legislation, which passed 289-135, must still clear the Senate before President Trump can sign it into law. It’s a potential boon to Iranian dissidents against the regime, who stand to gain insight into corruption by top officials. “Iran’s top regime leaders — the Supreme Leader and the country’s top political and military brass — have amassed huge wealth through their tyrannical rule and corrupt and covert structure,” Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, said upon introducing the legislation. “Reports have indicated these funds are being used to support and sponsor terrorism arou...

Trump sets the stage for new policy toward Iran 10/17/2017 8:08:07 PM Iran newspapers wrote about President Trump speech by Amir Basiri Washington Examiner, October 16, 2017  - 'We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more chaos, the very real threat of Iran's nuclear breakout,' President Trump said during his much-anticipated Friday speech, in which he made good on his promise to decertify the nuclear pact forged between Iran and world powers in 2015. While this does not mean the end of U.S. commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA as the accord is formally known, it will entrust Congress with the responsibility to decide the next step. Proponents of the JCPOA, architects of the deal, members of the former U.S. administration, and states engaged in business contracts with the regime criticized Trump's decision. They accused him of being swayed by political and personal impuls...

Trump designates Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group, calls for more sanctions 10/13/2017 8:24:57 PM ► Print I urge our allies to join us in taking strong actions to curb Irans continued dangerous and destabilizing behavior, Trump added by Joel Gehrke Washington Examiner, Oct 13, 2017  - The Trump administration on Friday designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, a move that President Trump followed up with by calling for tougher sanctions against the organization. 'I am authorizing the Treasury Department to further sanction the entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for its support for terrorism and to apply sanctions to its officials, agents, and affiliates,' Trump said in a White House speech. 'I urge our allies to join us in taking strong actions to curb Iran's continued dangerous and destabilizing behavior,' Trump added. 'The IRGC has played a central rol...

The world must stop ignoring Iran's pattern of obstructing nuclear inspections Giving Tehran a free pass is simply too dangerous by Alejo Vidal-Quadras   Washington Examiner, Sept. 27, 2017  - The Islamic Republic of Iran has demonstrated a long pattern of obstruction regarding inquiries and investigations into its nuclear activities, and that pattern persists more than two years after the conclusion of a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers. The conclusion of that agreement in 2015 was to some extent dependent upon the neglect of certain controversial issues, including access to Iranian military sites, where the regime apparently carried out research and development related to weaponization aspects of the country's nuclear program. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action effectively skirted this issue by making it theoretically possible for the International Atomic Energy Agency to ask for and receive access to military sites...