{"id":7904,"date":"2017-08-11T00:52:17","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T05:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/?p=7904"},"modified":"2017-08-11T00:52:17","modified_gmt":"2017-08-11T05:52:17","slug":"another-country-with-nuclear-aspirations-is-watching-the-north-korean-standoff-closely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/7904\/","title":{"rendered":"Another country with nuclear aspirations is watching the North Korean standoff closely"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article_deck\" class=\"content\">\n<div class=\"group-container last\">\n<div class=\"group\">\n<ul>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-7905 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/104068361-AP_719423970130.530x298-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"493\" height=\"278\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/104068361-AP_719423970130.530x298-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/104068361-AP_719423970130.530x298.jpg 530w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 493px) 100vw, 493px\" \/>Iran may come to believe that if North Korea can get away with building a nuclear weapon in spite of U.S. protests, then it can, too.<\/li>\n<li>Officials warn Iran could be the winner in the apparently escalating crisis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #666699;\">By CNBC <a style=\"color: #666699;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/jason-gewirtz\/\" rel=\"author\">Jason Gewirtz<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\"cols2\">\n<div class=\"unit col1\">\n<article>\n<div class=\"story\">\n<div id=\"article_body\" class=\"content\">\n<div class=\"group-container \">\n<div class=\"inline-player\">\n<div class=\"pro-video-chapters fall dyperf dyMonitor\" data-adid=\"535383||524|||\">\u00a0As the world turns its attention to reports that North Korea has mastered a key component to making a nuclear missile, experts warn that the White House must also keep its eye on Iran.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>The concern, some say, is that Tehran will see that if North Korea can get away with building a nuclear weapon in spite of U.S. protests, then it can, too.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said North Korean progress may lead Iran to try to become the next nuclear power. &#8220;It&#8217;s a human and emotional response, but also logical,&#8221; he said of Tehran&#8217;s possible goals.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inline_movable_ad\">\u00a0Adding to worries Iran will try to take advantage of the U.S. focus on North Korea, a top aide to supreme leader Kim Jong Un is on a 10-day trip to meet with Iranian leaders in Tehran, according to official North Korean news reports. The reports say top officials from North Korea&#8217;s army, navy and air force are part of the trip.<\/div>\n<p>Alireza Nader, an expert on Iran for the global policy think tank RAND Corp., said the meetings aren&#8217;t surprising. &#8220;Iran and North Korea cooperate on many fronts but mostly on defense,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Nader added that &#8220;most of the North Korean relationship with Iran centers on missile systems. North Korea was helping Iran, but now Iran is helping North Korea with technology for inter-continental ballistic missiles.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group-container \">\n<h4 class=\"subtitle\">The Iran-North Korea relationship<\/h4>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Despite colliding ideologies, the relationship between the Islamic Republic and communist-atheist North Korea began to blossom during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Iran sold oil to North Korea to raise cash for military supplies. Iran still ships some oil to North Korea, but that&#8217;s limited because North Korea doesn&#8217;t have much to trade in return for the fuel. &#8220;The relationship is really more military than anything&#8221; according to Nader.<\/p>\n<p>Levitt cautioned, however, that the North Korean crisis and the situation in Iran are not entirely parallel: &#8220;Iran is not a closed economy that is entirely blocked off from the rest of the world, while North Korea largely is.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group-container \">\n<div class=\"embed-container image\">\n<figure style=\"width: 530px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"enlargeThisImage\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2017\/08\/10\/its-not-just-north-korea-iran-may-pose-a-nuclear-problem-for-donald-trump.html#\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fm.cnbc.com\/applications\/cnbc.com\/resources\/img\/editorial\/2016\/11\/01\/104068361-AP_719423970130.530x298.jpg?v=1502376448\" alt=\"Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, right, meets with a top North Korean leader, Kim Yong Nam, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013.\" width=\"530\" height=\"298\" data-enlarged-image=\"https:\/\/fm.cnbc.com\/applications\/cnbc.com\/resources\/img\/editorial\/2016\/11\/01\/104068361-AP_719423970130.1910x1000.jpg?v=1502376448\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Ebrahim Noroozi | AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"attribution\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, right, meets with a top North Korean leader, Kim Yong Nam, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>That is, Tehran has more to lose from breaking the 2015 international nuclear deal that eased sanctions on the country, while North Korea is a true rogue nation. In fact, French automaker Renault earlier this week struck a deal to build cars in Iran, and energy giant Total recently reached a deal with the Iranians.<\/p>\n<p>Estimates show that more than 90 percent of all trade conducted by North Korea goes through China, whereas Iran is seen as a regional power in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>But, Levitt added, &#8220;when one situation goes wrong it is inevitable that you think about the other.&#8221; Still, he said, President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump&#8217;s<\/a> administration right now has no choice but to focus most of its attention on North Korea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group-container \">\n<h4 class=\"subtitle\">Dealing with multiple trouble spots<\/h4>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Former U.S. ambassador Ed Walker disagreed. Walker, who served in Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, said it&#8217;s crucial that the Trump team focuses on both issues at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As soon as you start distracting U.S. efforts to contain Iran, that frees up space for Iran to move forward with its nuclear program,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group-container last\">\n<div class=\"embed-container image\">\n<figure style=\"width: 530px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"enlargeThisImage\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2017\/08\/10\/its-not-just-north-korea-iran-may-pose-a-nuclear-problem-for-donald-trump.html#\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fm.cnbc.com\/applications\/cnbc.com\/resources\/img\/editorial\/2017\/02\/01\/104254215-RTSA0C9.530x298.jpg?v=1485953495\" alt=\"A ballistic missile is launched and tested in an undisclosed location, Iran, March 9, 2016.\" width=\"530\" height=\"298\" data-enlarged-image=\"https:\/\/fm.cnbc.com\/applications\/cnbc.com\/resources\/img\/editorial\/2017\/02\/01\/104254215-RTSA0C9.1910x1000.jpg?v=1485953495\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Mahmood Hosseini | TIMA | Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"attribution\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">A ballistic missile is launched and tested in an undisclosed location, Iran, March 9, 2016.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Walker also said that if the Trump administration can&#8217;t keep both issues in check at the same time, &#8220;they should quit and go home.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;President Trump has put himself at a terrible disadvantage by leaving key posts at the State Department unfilled and by not hiring qualified staff fast enough,&#8221; said Walker, who served under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with CNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Squawk Box&#8221; last week, Michael O&#8217;Hanlon, a Brookings Institution specialist in defense strategy, warned that Iran is watching what&#8217;s happening on the Korean Peninsula closely and using it as a test. He asked rhetorically, &#8220;What lessons will Iran draw if North Korea gets away with not only getting a bomb, but building up continuously with China and Russia tolerating it?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While the North Korean nuclear front is clearly escalating, tensions with Iran are hardly dissipating. After the White House said it wants inspections of Iranian military facilities, a spokesman for Iran&#8217;s foreign ministry mocked the push, reportedly calling it &#8220;possibly something that a satirist wrote up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>RAND&#8217;s Nader said the Trump administration would be wise to not push for more inspections of Iran just for the sake of testing the nuclear deal.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If there is true suspicion of Iranian cheating or violating the accord, then the U.S. should increase inspections,&#8221; said Nader. But, he added, the North Korea crisis is a great example of why the current deal is so important. &#8220;Iran is under a heavy inspections regime, North Korea was not.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Iran may come to believe that if North Korea can get away with building a nuclear weapon in spite of U.S. protests, then it can, <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/7904\/\" title=\"Another country with nuclear aspirations is watching the North Korean standoff closely\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-nuclear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7904"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7906,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7904\/revisions\/7906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}