Iran Is Cheating 

New reports today indicate yet again that Iran is violating the existing sanctions regime even as President Obama attempts to negotiate a new deal over its nuclear program. Over the weekend, Mahan Air took possession of nine recently purchased Airbus passenger jets. Iran's transportation minister claims that a total of 15 planes have been purchased this year.

The company was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department more than three years ago for its support of Hezbollah and the Syrian regime. But these jets are not the main issue. 

The bigger problem is what Iran's cheating means to President Obama's nuclear deal. Obama is offering to lift existing sanctions as a carrot in the nuclear negotiations. And he insists that if Iran cheats in the future, those sanctions will be "snapped back" into place. 

Obama's critics rightly contend that his assertion is wishful thinking at best and blatant deception at worst. The existing sanctions regime is clearly unraveling. 
 

• In February, Reuters reported that Iran had smuggled "at least $1 billion in cash" into the country in violation of sanctions. 
   
• Just a few weeks ago, Great Britain notified the United Nations that it caught Iran cheating yet again on nuclear procurement efforts in violation of existing sanctions. 
   
• And before that, Russia announced that it would sell Iran sophisticated anti-aircraft missile systems. 

  Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said:

  "To preserve the credibility of its sanctions regime, the administration must move quickly to punish those companies involved in this blatant breach of U.S. sanctions. Otherwise, the argument that sanctions are still largely intact and can always be snapped back in the future loses all credibility."

  He's right. Last week it was reported that U.S. oil companies were already looking to do business with Tehran. 

  Here's the bottom line: Iran is already cheating on existing agreements and sanctions. It cannot be trusted to respect the terms of any deal. 

  Left Bashes U.S. At U.N. 

  The State Department has once again filed a report at the United Nations bashing America's civil rights record. According to Breitbart, our alleged human rights violations include:
   

• Police brutality, including the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri
• Discrimination against Muslims who want to build or expand mosques
• Voter identification laws in Texas and elsewhere
• Suspension of black children in schools
• Women earning "78 cents on the dollar" (a false statistic) 

  For State Department ideologues to cite these issues as evidence of so-called "human rights violations" is wrong beyond words and perpetuates liberal myths. 

  For example, we know that the violence surrounding the Michael Brown shooting -- "hands up, don't shoot" -- was based on a lie. The Justice Department cleared Officer Darren Wilson. 

  Muslims are being brought into this country in record numbers. They are coming here to escape real human rights abuses in their native lands. 

  We are turning ourselves into pretzels trying to accommodate them, trying to avoid offending them. The number of mosques built in the United States since the 9/11 attacks has increased by 74%. 

  The Supreme Court has upheld voter ID laws and many minorities support them.

  This outrageous report is just one more example of how much the left hates America. 

  Marginalizing Christianity 

  While mosque construction is booming, a new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that America's Christian population has declined significantly since 2007. Seven years ago, more than 78% of Americans identified as Christians. Now barely 71% do. 

  Why such a sharp decline in so little time? We know religiosity among Millennials is much lower than previous generations. That accounts for some of the decline. The Greatest Generation -- a generation that defeated great evil -- is dying off and they tended to be church goers. 

  But I think a more troubling analysis stems from this question: How can we have a country where 71% still claim to be Christians and yet our leading institutions -- from government, education and the popular culture -- are so anti-Christian? How does 70% of a country become marginalized? 

  There are two possible explanations. First, the radically secular part of the country seemingly dominates the institutions that mold minds and it is having an effect. 

  Another explanation is that many who say they are followers of Jesus Christ are only cultural Christians at best. Now that attacks on Christianity are gaining in strength and popularity, those weakly grounded in the faith are quickly abandoning it. 

  But this I know for sure: We are all living in a country founded on a Judeo-Christian worldview, rooted in the Torah and the New Testament. As that values system erodes, something will fill the void, and we may discover just how far a great nation can slide. Just look at the state of Europe today. 

  Everybody is understandably worried about the drought of water in California. But the reservoir of Judeo-Christian teaching that nourishes this country is being rapidly depleted. That thirst will not be so easily quenched.