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By
Joseph
Klein
The
United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on March 2nd that
imposes tough new sanctions and tightens some of its existing measures against
North Korea (the DPRK). Resolution
2270 (2016) is the Security Council’s strongest response to date to
the rogue North Korean regime’s ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile-related
test activities in violation of a series of prior Security Council resolutions.
The triggering events leading up to this latest resolution were North Korea’s
January 2016 nuclear test and February rocket launch. These provocations were
too much even for China, North Korea’s closest trading partner, which
cooperated constructively with the United States to reach consensus on the
resolution’s text after several weeks of negotiations. [more...]
By
Joseph
Klein
Iran
held an election last week to fill seats in its clerical body known as the
Assembly of Experts, which would select Ayatollah Khamenei’s successor as
Supreme Leader, as well as seats in Iran’s parliament. Focusing on
victories over hardliners in the capital city of Tehran, the results are being
hailed in the Iranian “reformist” circles as "Tehran's Spring." So-called “reformists and
moderates” who support President Hassan Rouhani and strategized together to
defeat the hardliners, are crowing. And as the BBC reported, President Rouhani has sought to portray the results
as a mandate to continue his policies of trying to reduce Iran’s international
isolation. "It's time to open a new chapter in Iran's economic development
based on domestic abilities and international opportunities," he said last
Saturday. [more...]
