President Joe Biden will land in Israel on Wednesday – the same day that United Nations sanctions on Iran’s ability to acquire and deploy ballistic missiles to US enemies are set to expire.
Under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the JCPOA, all UN restrictions on Iran’s ability to acquire drones and missiles will end on October 18, known as ‘Transition Day’. As a result, Iran’s own firepower will increase and it will become easier for the country to send ballistic missiles to its dangerous terrorist organizations and other countries hostile to the US – including Russia.
October 18 is also the date on which Biden will travel to Israel, America’s most important ally in the Middle East, in a show of solidarity after Iran-backed Hamas terrorists in Gaza launched a brutal attack on Israel over a week ago , killing more than 1,300 innocent civilians. and at least 29 Americans.
The dangerous coincidence has not gone unnoticed by the national security community.
Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told DailyMail.com that the timing of Biden’s trip is stunning and said the missile embargo should not expire without new, tougher sanctions imposed by the US and its countries. allies.
Iran has developed its growing missile arsenal over the past decade and is known to have the most diverse arsenal in the Middle East, with around 3,000 missiles.
A new surface-to-surface 4th generation Khorramshahr ballistic missile called Khaibar with a range of 2,000 km is launched from a secret location in Iran
President Biden travels to Israel in solidarity after the country was attacked by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists
“It is absolutely unconscionable for the US to allow the UN missile embargo on Iran to expire this week without working with European allies to first roll back all UN sanctions,” he explained.
“Russia and China cannot stop the snapback, so the only reason not to initiate it is to maintain a strategic paradigm of appeasement and accommodation with the sponsor of this horrific Hamas massacre, Iran,” Goldberg told DailyMail. com.
According to experts, Iran plans to use the easing of restrictions to better supply its affiliated terrorist organizations – including Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran has been developing its growing missile arsenal in the past decade and is known to have the most diverse in the Middle East, with approximately 3,000 missiles.
The country has the ability to land missiles in Israel and southeastern Europe. This poses a huge security risk to the US and allies with troops and other assets in the region.
The variety of missiles includes short-range CRBMS, short-range SRBMs and medium-range MRBMs that can hit targets 2,000 km away – or almost 1,200 miles away.
During a 2022 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, now-retired U.S. Central Command General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. warned. that Iran’s investments in missile development appear to be paying off.
“They have more than 3,000 ballistic missiles of various types, some of which can reach Tel Aviv. Over the past five to seven years, they have invested heavily in the ballistic missile program. Their missiles have significantly greater range and accuracy,” said General McKenzie.
Goldberg, who previously served in the Trump administration as director of the National Security Council for Countering Iran’s Weapons of Mass Destruction, told DailyMail.com that Iran thrives when it views the West as “weak.”
With the expiration of these sanctions, Iran is likely to increase its nuclear arsenal and could even send missiles to Russia to aid the country in its war of aggression against Ukraine, which is approaching the two-year mark.
Britain, France and Germany – European members of the JCPOA – have said they will maintain sanctions on Iran.
These snapback sanctions would restore the U.N. conventional arms embargo on the enemy nation, which expired in 2020.
It also places restrictions on Iran’s work on uranium enrichment as the country works to develop nuclear weapons. It is currently unknown that Iran has yet successfully developed a functional nuclear bomb.
However, these snap sanctions will end in 2025, so the international community has only two years left before all restrictions on Iran are lifted.
Former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA in 2018, saying it did not hinder Iran’s ability to develop its ballistic missile program.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday evening that President Biden will travel to Israel to “reaffirm solidarity” with his closest ally in the Middle East, and to push for the admission of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Blinken made the announcement after six hours of talks with Israeli officials. Biden was invited this weekend by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He said Biden’s visit took place in “solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security.”
The secretary further said that both countries have agreed to “develop a plan” that would allow aid to Gaza. “It is critical that aid flows to Gaza as quickly as possible,” Blinken said.
The United States has sent a strike group led by the world’s largest warship to the eastern Mediterranean in response to Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, which cost approximately $18 billion to develop – including $4.7 billion for research and development and $12.8 billion for construction – can carry up to 90 aircraft, including the world’s most advanced fighter jets the army.
In addition, the Pentagon has reportedly selected about 2,000 troops to prepare for a deployment to aid Israel as a second strike group steams toward the eastern Mediterranean.
Officials said the troops would not serve in a combat role but would be tasked with medical support or advisory duties.
Details emerged Monday after the Defense Department said the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower strike group, which deployed Friday from Norfolk, Virginia, was en route.
She will join the USS Gerald R. Ford, which arrived off the coast of Israel last week.
The United States has deployed a carrier strike group led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest warship, to the eastern Mediterranean in response to Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel.
Antony Blinken announced on Monday that Joe Biden will be in Tel Aviv on Wednesday
As Blinken made his announcement, dozens of truckloads of humanitarian aid lined up at the Gaza-Egypt border crossing, awaiting entry.
Blinken said his six-hour talks with Israel had yielded agreements for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and also included discussions on safe zones for Gazans. In the photo: an Israeli tank near the Gaza border
In the early hours of October 17, photos showed trucks carrying aid destined for Gaza arriving at Rafah, the territory’s southern border crossing with Egypt.
Blinken added that officials could also work together to “create areas that can keep citizens out of harm’s way.”
After his Israeli visit, Biden will travel to Jordan to meet with that country’s leaders, Egyptian leaders and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Throughout the conflict, Abbas has insisted that Hamas does not represent the interests of the Palestinian people.
Biden’s visit also comes as Israel prepares an imminent ground invasion of Gaza.
It will be Biden’s second visit this year to an active war zone. In February, he traveled to the Ukrainian capital Kiev to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and mark the anniversary of that country’s conflict with Russia.