Iran and the Flawed Nuclear Deal: Trust—But Do Not Verify?
As irrational and dangerous as it sounds, the Biden Administration continues to press for the renewal of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran—even though Iran will not allow the international community to verify that it is actually keeping its part of the agreement. With the war in Ukraine, sky-high gasoline prices, runaway inflation, and the crisis on our southern border—it is easy to overlook the ongoing negotiations with a sworn enemy of the United States. But the talks with Iran in Vienna are not over.
The so-called Iran Nuclear Deal was always flawed and ill-advised. However, entering into the agreement with the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, and not being able to certify that Iran is honoring its commitments, is the apex of delusion, weak diplomacy, and naiveté that directly impacts national security. The Administration appears to be oblivious to the fact the negotiations in Vienna are pointless and dangerous.
The latest alarm bell comes from Rafael Grossi, who is the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Grossi told the European Parliament last week:
We, in the last few months, were able to identify traces of enriched uranium in places that had never been declared by Iran as places where any activity was taking place. The situation does not look very good. Iran, for the time being, has not been forthcoming in the kind of information we need from them.
Grossi stated in his remarks to the European officials that the Biden Administration still wants to revive the deal, and diplomats from Europe are in Tehran trying to iron out the wrinkles in the nuclear deal.
The IAEA is also charging that Iran is limiting access to the declared nuclear sites. Additionally, in the nuclear agreement, all military installations are off limits to any inspections. A military base in Iran would be the ideal location for Iran to hide its research and development of nuclear weapons under these provisions. What is further amazing is, in the ongoing negotiations in Vienna, these matters of verification are technically separate from any of the talks with Iran.
We do know that Iran admits it has enriched uranium at a level of 60%. A level of 90% is weapons grade uranium. The JCPOA limits Iranian enrichment of uranium at 3.67%. What we do not know is if Iran has continued its enrichment program so that it already has a stockpile of weapons-grade material. Experts do believe that the breakout time—the amount of time Iran needs to push ahead and actually build a nuclear explosive device—has dropped from over a year to now only a matter of months. Because Iran has ignored the restrictions of the original JCPOA and has not allowed international inspections since the U.S. withdrew from the agreement in 2018—the world does not really know where Iran is in its pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
As the Wall Street Journal points out, we are in a dangerous cycle with Iranian negotiations:
The West offers concessions but declares time is running out to reach a deal. Mr. Grossi warns Iran is being uncooperative but still supports the Vienna talks. Tehran continues to advance its nuclear program and stonewall international inspectors. Then the West offers concessions but declares time is running short. Rinse and repeat.
This is a very dangerous dance. In truth, Iran does not want a deal with the international community. It wants nuclear weapons. Iran is stalling, simply biding time. The Biden Administration has signaled it is willing to remove many, if not all, sanctions. This only encourages the Iranian regime that they can flaunt U.N. restrictions, continue their nuclear research and development, and ultimately acquire nuclear weapons. Then Iran will likely use the fact that they are a nuclear power to coerce the West to lift sanctions. By the way, for over five years now, Iran has violated U.N. restrictions on their ballistic missile program. Unless the civilized world intervenes and stops the insanely unproductive back-and-forth with Iran—they will not only have a nuclear bomb, but also the means to deliver such a weapon anywhere in the region.
Iran is demanding not only that sanctions be lifted against the rogue nation, but they also want their Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) taken off the list of designated terrorist organizations. The IRGC is the agency in charge of Iran’s terror exports. They supply weapons and technology to Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi Rebels in Yemen. All these terrorist groups attack civilians routinely. Additionally, the IRGC is responsible for the deaths of over 600 U.S. service members. The IRGC continues to launch attacks in Iraq and Syria. It is not a typical military organization and is separate from the Iranian armed forces. They also control business permits in Iran, have huge sway in the Iranian economy, and report directly to the Ayatollah Khamenei—not to Iranian military leaders.
It would be a geo-political break with reality for the Biden Administration to remove the IRGC from the list of terrorist organizations or lift the sanctions. The IRGC is, in fact, a terrorist group. To pretend they are not is foolish and disingenuous. It would also be the height of folly to lift sanctions on Iran. Iran has no intention of abandoning their pursuit of nuclear weapons. Lifting sanctions will only assist Iran in this quest and give them the financial resources to continue their malevolent behavior.
A vote in the U.S. Senate last week approved a resolution 62-33 that any deal with Iran must address its support of terrorism in the Middle East and that sanctions on the IRGC should not be lifted. The resolution is non-binding but is a warning to the White House that they are on dangerous ground to even consider lifting sanctions or looking the other way regarding Iran’s terror activities. Will the White House listen? Will President Biden understand that Iran is not an honest, good-faith partner in these negotiations?
Iran is not only a threat to peace in the Middle East but also poses danger to the peace and security of the civilized world. At this juncture, the talks in Vienna are pointless. The world must unite in increasing sanctions on Iran and commit to doing all that is necessary to make sure that the world’s most dangerous country does not ever possess the world’s most dangerous weapons.