{"id":236178,"date":"2021-03-11T09:38:18","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T14:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=236178"},"modified":"2023-02-01T05:04:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T04:04:11","slug":"european-appeasement-must-end-before-iran-causes-disaster-at-home-or-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/blog\/op-ed\/european-appeasement-must-end-before-iran-causes-disaster-at-home-or-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"European Appeasement Must End Before Iran Causes Disaster at Home or Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Iran-EU-relations-15122020\"<\/p>\n

By: Alejo Vidal Quadras<\/strong><\/p>\n

The nations of Europe share a long, shameful history of appeasing Iran\u2019s theocratic regime. They have done so in the face of that regime\u2019s pursuit of nuclear weapons, as by signing onto a weak agreement in 2015, which Iran was able to violate instantly and with impunity after deciding it was not accruing sufficient economic benefits from its erstwhile adversaries. They have done so in the face of rampant human rights abuses, even turning a blind eye to a massacre<\/a> of some 30,000 Iranian political prisoners in the summer of 1988. And they have even done so in the face of terrorist activity that included threats to Western property, personnel, and vital interests.<\/p>\n

There has been little change in this tendency over more than four decades of failed efforts to spur an illusory trend of moderation within the Iranian regime. Unfortunately, that fact has only emboldened Iran\u2019s malign activity in each of the above categories. But fortunately, there is emerging evidence that Iranian authorities have pushed their luck too far, exposing themselves to ever-greater volumes of international criticism and pushing at least some Western policymakers to a breaking point wherein they can no longer tolerate the growth of Iranian threats and offenses.<\/p>\n

In 2018, after facing no serious consequences for its provocative moves against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz or for its severe crackdown on a nationwide uprising<\/a> that was underway at the start of that year, the regime saw fit to accelerate its conflict with opponents both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIran\u2019s Year of Uprising\u201d<\/div><\/div>
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