As the U.S. continues to seek a deal with Iran over nuclear weapons, the Iranian regime systematically subjects its own people to horrific abuse. Detailing the scope of that abuse, pursued in flagrant disregard of international norms, Irwin Cotler asks whether it shouldn’t “cause us to question the veracity of any commitments made by” such a regime, let alone entrusting it with nuclear weapons:

[H]uman rights violations in Iran continue unabated—and have even intensified—under the “moderate” President Rouhani. . . .

Iran not only executes more people per-capita than any other state, but the execution rate has actually escalated under President Rouhani, with the UN General Assembly expressing concern about the “alarmingly high frequency” of executions. At present, Iran now executes a person every eight hours, with death sentences carried out for overbroad crimes such as “corruption on earth” and “enmity with God.” Iran has already executed more than 80 people in the first month of January 2015 alone—the largest rate of executions of any month on record.

Concluded in 1979, the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty ended nearly 30 years of intermittent warfare, and proved one of the most enduring and beneficial products of Middle East diplomacy. But Egypt may not have been upholding its end of the bargain, write Jonathan Schanzer and Mariam Wahba:

Article III, subsection two of the peace agreement’s preamble explicitly requires both parties “to ensure that that acts or threats of belligerency, hostility, or violence do not originate from and are not committed from within its territory.” This clause also mandates both parties to hold accountable any perpetrators of such acts.

Recent Israeli operations along the Philadelphi Corridor, the narrow strip of land bordering Egypt and Gaza, have uncovered multiple tunnels and access points used by Hamas—some in plain sight of Egyptian guard towers. While it could be argued that Egypt has lacked the capacity to tackle this problem, it is equally plausible that it lacks the will. Either way, it’s a serious problem.

Was Egypt motivated by money, amidst a steep and protracted economic decline in recent years? Did Cairo get paid off by Hamas, or its wealthy patron, Qatar? Did the Iranians play a role? Was Egypt threatened with violence and unrest by the Sinai’s Bedouin Union of Tribes, who are the primary profiteers of smuggling, if it did not allow the tunnels to operate? Or did the Sisi regime take part in this operation because of an ideological hatred of Israel?