Vice President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States “will act” if Iran’s test firing of ballistic missiles is proven to violate the terms of the nuclear agreement the U.S. and five other nations struck with Iran last year, but a congressional leader on the issue says we shouldn’t hold out breath.
On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard test-fired multiple missiles. Later reports indicated the missiles contained a message written in Hebrew. “Israel should be wiped off the Earth” was the purported message.
Vice President Joe Biden was in Israel at the time. At a joint press conference Biden stressed America’s commitment to Israel’s security and said the U.S. will act if Iran’s activities did in fact breach the nuclear agreement.
“All their conventional activity outside the deal, which is still beyond the deal, we will and are attempting to act wherever we can find it,” said Biden.
Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade. He suspects Biden’s vow is just empty rhetoric.
“We’re not going to do anything,” said Poe, in reference to the Obama administration.
Biden’s wording about the nuclear agreement could be telling, because Poe says Iran’s missile tests didn’t violate that deal.
“The nuclear agreement with Iran does not include the testing or not testing of missiles. There’s a UN resolution prohibiting Iran from testing intercontinental ballistic missiles, but it is not part of the Iranian deal,” said Poe.
So while Iran is violating a United Nations Security Council resolution, Poe suspects the most we’ll see is ineffective bluster.
“What is the UN going to do? They’re not going to do anything,” said Poe. “We should have the capability, and we do, to interpose our own unilateral sanctions against the ballistic missile testing. But we’ve backed away from the sanctions. I don’t see anything happening on this at all,” said Poe.
He says the Obama administration was tacitly admitting in the nuclear agreement, that Iran would ultimately end up with the very weapons we don’t want them to have.
“We as a country have made it our policy to allow them to get nuclear weapons within ten years from the deal. Exactly where they are right now I cannot say,” said Poe.
However, the congressman stresses that Americans need to see these missile tests as an overt step towards developing and deploying nuclear weapons.
“The ayatollah has made it clear that he wants to develop nuclear weapons and he needs a delivery system. That system is intercontinental ballistic missiles,” said Poe.
What remains unclear about the recent tests is exactly what type of missiles these were.
“The question is are they capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. We don’t know that they are or are not,” said Poe.
It is already known that Iran has missiles with a 1,400-mile range. Poe says that’s enough to imperil many of our friends.
“I do believe that their development is of course to make those missiles not only go to Israel but to go to western Europe,” said Poe, who reminds Americans that we are Tehran’s ultimate target.
“It’s always been the foreign policy of the ayatollah and of Iran to eliminate Israel and also to eliminate the United States. That policy has never changed. It hasn’t changed during the nuclear agreement. I think people in Washington, the administration especially, need to understand that the goal of the ayatollah is to destroy us and Israel,” said Poe.
Poe also outlined what he thinks the U.S. response ought to be.
“We have the authority and the ability to impose greater sanctions through the Treasury Department on the money and the companies that are actually working to develop these intercontinental ballistic missiles,” said Poe.
“Immediately, the (UN) security council should impose greater sanctions to prevent them from developing the intercontinental ballistic missiles,” he added. “Rather than just talking about it and telling them we don’t like what they’re doing, we should actually do something. They’re not going to stop unless they’re forced to stop.”
Poe says Congress may act on its own accord but members realize the odds are stacked against them in actually getting the sanctions implemented.
“Congress should weigh in on the sanctions. We would have to pass legislation and get the president to sign it. There lies the rub,” said Poe.
