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Dr. Boozman's Check-up

Need more evidence of how badly President Obama’s Iran strategy has failed?

The Associated Press reports that earlier this week, while Vice President Joe Biden was in Jerusalem to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Iranian regime test fired two ballistic missiles reportedly capable of reaching Israel.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division, told Iran’s state-run media that the test was aimed at showing that the range of Iran’s missiles could reach Israel and said America’s strongest ally in the region “will not last long in a war.”

As an added insult, the phrase “Israel must be wiped out” was said to have been written in Hebrew on the missiles.

This was the second straight day the Iranian regime conducted this type of weapons testing. The State Department labeled the previous missile test as a possible violation of U.N. Security Council’s resolution 2231.

These displays are clearly meant to intimidate the Israelis and send a message to the world that the Iranians intend to quickly rebuild its weapon arsenal now that it is free of nuclear-related sanctions.

Iran’s ability to develop and acquire these types of weapons is just one of the many disastrous results of the Obama Administration’s poorly negotiated Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Now that the regime in Tehran is flush with resources, it acts as if it is virtually untouchable. Even before implementation of the JCPOA, Iran shamelessly violated UN Security Council mandates by conducting prohibited ballistic missile tests.

Combine a rebuilt arsenal with continuous agitation in the region through its terror allies and you have a recipe for disaster. The State Department has already acknowledged that Iran will send its newly found funds and resources to terror groups, including Hezbollah.

Those Iranian proxies, and even some of the nation’s own military units, are fighting for Bashir Assad in Syria right now. Working with Russian warplanes, Iran’s special forces and Hezbollah fighters have helped Assad regain control of large swaths of Syrian territory including districts around Aleppo where some of the bloodiest battles of the conflict have been waged.

This is the world that the misguided Obama foreign policy doctrine has created. If Iran is allowed to continue to provoke and intimidate Israel, it is clear that the already unstable region will spiral further out of control. This situation calls for strong U.S. leadership. The Obama Administration needs to come off the sidelines and ensure that the Iranian regime understands that these provocations will not be tolerated.