OPINION | The bullies in Teheran and Pyongyang need to be stopped by a steadfast application of pressure, and sooner rather than later.
As the General Michael Flynn’s political star sets amidst continued controversy, the Trump administration is facing its first foreign policy tests less than a month after the inauguration. Unsurprisingly, the two actors who are actively testing President Trump’s resolve come straight from George W. Bush’s “axis of evil”: Iran and North Korea, two of America’s most implacable adversaries.
What is more intriguing is whether the two are coordinating their ballistic missile tests – and how much support they are receiving from their “sugar daddies” in Moscow and Beijing.
Future sanctions may involve not just the two terror-supporting states, but companies in Russia and China that are working to boost the missile efforts in both countries. Beyond that, the administration may consider broader deployment of missile defenses in the Middle East, South Korea, and Japan, and potentially, U. S. tactical nuclear weapons in vicinity of the two aggressors.
North Korea recently tested the Pukguksong-2, mobile medium-to-long range missile capable of reaching Japan, with the estimated range of over 500 kilometers. Analysts believe that this missile, a modification of a submarine-launched model, is solid-fuel, which means it takes much less time to prepare and fire than an older, liquid fuel models. Kim also claims to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking U. S. homeland.
And then there is Iran. Sources in the Arab Gulf suggest that Tehran may be involved in testing its nuclear weapons and developing its ICBMs in North Korea. Since Trump’s election, the Islamic Republic has tested two medium range ballistic missiles, violating the spirit of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which codified the Obama administration-initiated Iran nuclear program compromise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Being derivatives of the Soviet SCUD -B missile and the North Korean No Dong, these weapons can become nuclear-capable.
