Most Americans believe that the latest nuclear deal with Iran is bad for the US, including many on the left. Yet it remains to be seen if Congress will do what’s necessary to stop it. This is just another example that illustrates how this president does not have America’s best interests at heart. The deal is very one-sided and does nothing to stop Iran’s state-sponsored terrorism.
On Tuesday, President Obama hailed his nuclear agreement with Iran as historic, though not because of his claim that it will “prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” The agreement all but guarantees that Tehran will eventually become a nuclear power, while limiting the ability of a future president to prevent it. He went on:
“We give up nothing by testing whether or not this problem can be solved peacefully. If, in a worst-case scenario, Iran violates the deal, the same options available to me today will be available to any U.S. President in the future.”
The President claims that the deal will prevent Iran from obtaining nukes for 15 years – assuming they don’t cheat. Never mind that President Clinton signed a similar nuclear deal with North Korea in 1994, and we all know how that turned out.
Iran won’t be allowed to enrich uranium to more than civilian-grade, and it will have to ship or sell all but 300 kilos abroad. Iran pledges to build no new heavy-water reactors and modify the one it has so it can’t produce bomb-grade plutonium.
As for inspections, Iran promised to sign the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which allows U.N. inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to monitor nuclear sites. However, those inspections can be delayed significantly. “The IAEA will have access where necessary, when necessary,” Mr. Obama promised. But ‘necessary’ to whom?
The IAEA inspectors will only be allowed to ask permission of the Iranians to inspect suspected sites, and “such requests will not be aimed at interfering with Iranian military or other national security activities.” If Iran objects, as it will, “the Agency may request access”, and Iran can propose “alternative arrangements” to address the concerns.
If that fails, as it will, the dispute gets kicked upstairs, first to a “Joint Commission,” then to a Ministerial Review, then to an “Advisory Board,” then to the U.N. Security Council – with each stop taking weeks or months. This gives Iran plenty of time to remove any evidence of cheating.
In any event, Iran gets sanctions relief that Mr. Obama promises can “snap back into place” if Iran violates the deal. Most agree that reimposing the sanctions will be very difficult, if not impossible, once they are lifted and a pro-Iran commercial lobby resurfaces in Europe, China and Russia. A committee of the eight signatories would have to vote to restore sanctions.
The reality is this deal is much more favorable to the Iranians, which explains the celebrations at high levels in Tehran.
The deal does place sharp limits on Iran’s current use of first-generation IR-1 centrifuges. But it allows hundreds of those centrifuges to remain in the heavily defended Fordo facility, where they are supposed to remain idle, but could be reactivated at the flick of a switch. The deal also permits Iran to build and test advanced centrifuges.
Perhaps most dismaying is that this nuclear deal also lifts sanctions on Iran’s conventional weapons’ trade in five years, and ballistic missiles in eight. Missiles are the most effective way of delivering a nuclear weapon – including to the US.
Just last week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey warned Congress that “under no circumstances should we relieve pressure on Iran relative to ballistic missile capabilities and arms trafficking.” The US appears to have caved on this point at the last minute after ultimatums from Tehran.
All of this assumes that Iran will honor its commitments, notwithstanding its long record of cheating. The deal leaves Tehran as a nuclear-threshold state, even if it doesn’t cheat (which it will). It will be able to continue its nuclear research and retain its facilities while it waits for U.N. supervision to end.
The other nations of the region, despite President Obama’s assurances, will conclude: Instead of eliminating a radical regime’s nuclear ambitions, the Vienna accord promises to usher in a new age of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.
Here are a few other important points we should all know about this deal:
- Israel, Saudi Arabia and other US allies strongly oppose it.
- It is very likely to spark a new arms race in the Middle East.
- Over $100 billion in Iranian assets will be unfrozen.
- Iran will continue to be the largest state sponsor of terrorism, but with sanctions lifted and an extra $100 billion to spend.
- Iran gets much easier access to new technologies, many with military implications.
Needless to say, this is a terrible and dangerous deal for America and our allies around the world. Feel free to forward today’s blog to others.
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