Former Italian Foreign Minister: It's time for Europe to align itself with the US in standing up to Iran

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/06/18/former-italian-foreign-minister-its-time-for-europe-to-align-itself-with-us-in-standing-up-to-iran.html#

Since the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany concluded their nuclear negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, several Iranian ballistic missile tests have been carried out. It is one of several facts that leaves no doubt about the persistence of defiant attitudes and threats to the international community coming out of the Iranian regime.

Even though such tests are plain violations of a UN Security Council resolution that accompanied implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the global media and the nations of Europe have given unfortunately little attention to the issue. Under the previous administration, the White House downplayed such activities, which are obvious violations of the spirit of the closely-guarded JCPOA. Washington’s apparent dismissiveness also set the tone for the responses of European officials.

President Donald Trump is, rightly, developing an assertive policy toward the Islamic Republic. This includes a sharper focus on illicit ballistic missile tests. When the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) conducted another such test in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s inauguration, his administration responded by putting the Islamic Republic “on notice” over its destabilizing activities in the region. More recently, the White House has moved to new sanctions on the ballistic missile program. The U.S. Senate voted almost unanimously Friday to impose new sanctions on Iran (and Russia) for its missile program among other activities.