A lesson about Iran from North Korea

In 2014, the U.S. State Department Arms Control Compliance Report stated: “Iran currently is in violation of obligations under [the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty], its [United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency] Safeguards Agreement, and relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions .”

Question: Why are we negotiating for a new agreement, when existing Iranian Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) violations persist unresolved, suggesting that Iran is busily producing nuclear weapons and is unlikely to comply with any new agreement? Historically, such negotiation is unprecedented.

Alarmingly, Iran is within three months of having nuclear warheads, according to the negotiators, and is therefore about to become another nuclear-armed North Korea. North Korea also cheated on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and developed its own nukes and ballistic missiles. In fact, there is an alliance — Iran co-finances North Korea’s nuclear tests, North Korea has already staged nuclear tests for Iran, and Iranian missile telemetry is derived from North Korean telemetry. So Iran has long been collaborating with a notorious rogue and cheater.

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