While Washington speaks, Iran sneaks
While vice President Joseph Biden (D) automatically recited the talking points of his boss's Iran deal--it would extend the time period for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons--the British government (confidentially) informed a UN sanctions panel of a different concern that Reuters just happened to see.
Britain has informed a United Nations sanctions panel of an active Iranian nuclear procurement network linked to two blacklisted firms, according to a confidential report by the panel seen by Reuters.
The existence of such a network could add to Western concerns over whether Tehran can be trusted to adhere to a nuclear deal due by June 30 in which it would agree to restrict sensitive nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief.
Well, yeah, this "could add to Western concerns" but will it? It might ruin the future friendship, alliance.
As the Reuters article further states
Iran, which is has been under sanctions for years, has a long history of illicit nuclear procurement using front companies and other methods of skirting sanctions.
That has enabled it to develop a substantial atomic program in spite of aggressive international efforts to curtail it, U.N. diplomats say. But analysts and Western intelligence officials say sanctions have slowed the development of Tehran’s nuclear program. (snip)
Apart from the British notice and expressions of concern from some member states about continued Iranian procurement activities, the panel said it had received no new reports from U.N. member states of confirmed cases of non-compliance.
But it said that could simply indicate that some states are refraining from reporting violations to avoid undermining the delicate nuclear talks. It said that some members' assessment was that Iran's procurement and "circumvention techniques" remain mostly unchanged.
It cited an example of an unnamed member state saying that an Iranian entity had recently attempted to acquire compressors, a key component in the uranium enrichment process, using false end-user certificates in an attempt to evade controls.
Other than that, there is really nothing to worry about because President Barack Obama (D) promised that his Iran nuclear deal will turn Iran into a friend and make the world safer for democracy and other good things.
hat tip:Instapundit