Will the World Allow Iran To Have a Nuclear Weapon? What You Need To Know
Iran announced today that the terrorist regime is now prepared to renew talks on its nuclear weapons program, the JCPOA. The talks with China, Russia, and our European allies are set to begin within a matter of days, following intense negotiations last week in Vienna. Iran refuses to meet directly with representatives from the U.S.—so, members of the so-called P5+1 serve as intermediaries for the U.S.
Under normal circumstances, Iran agreeing to come back to the negotiating table would be good news. Now, it is cause for concern—maybe even alarm. The signs of new life in negotiations come on the heels of developments that should worry all objective observers who care about peace in the Middle East and the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran.
On October 13th, Robert Malley, the Biden Administration’s special representative for Iran, admitted that the United States and its allies must brace for a world in which Iran is a nuclear power without constraints. However, at the same event where Malley gave his somber prediction, he also stated that he had made it clear to Iran that “we are prepared to remove all sanctions that were imposed by the Trump Administration that were inconsistent with the [nuclear] deal, and therefore we could get back to the business that we should have been on.” The removal of sanctions has been the demand of the Iranians since President Biden took office.
Does anyone wonder why suddenly Iran is willing to come back to the table? The chief negotiator for America just acquiesced to the idea of a nuclear-armed Iran, while also indicating that President Biden is willing to lift all sanctions! For Iran, what is not to love about this looming new deal over its weapons program? Two weeks ago, Iran’s Foreign Minister stated at the U.N. General Assembly meeting that Iran would come back to the talks if the U.S. gave Iran a 10-billion-dollar gesture of goodwill. Has this also happened in the last few days? Did the Biden Administration give in to this demand as well?
Meanwhile, Iran has blown through all the limits on its nuclear program that were set by the P5+1 and the world community. It is enriching uranium at 60%, far above the 5% allowed by the original agreement. Only 90% enrichment is needed for a nuclear bomb, a short step away from where Iran is now. It has dramatically increased the number of high-capacity centrifuges for enrichment. Reports indicate that it is already developing and testing “shock-wave generators,” a key component of miniaturizing a nuclear bomb so it can be placed on the tip of a missile. And, violating all restrictions by the United Nations, Iran has continued its research and development of ballistic missiles, the delivery system needed for a nuclear attack.
In what appears to be a break from reality, the Biden team somehow believes that—with all the progress Iran has made on a nuclear weapon—that Iran can “unlearn” what it has achieved in nuclear technology and that if the world will only give them everything that they ask for, all will be well.
One wonders if, all along, the Biden Administration accepted as inevitable and unavoidable that Iran will have nuclear weapons and the capability to deliver them. Has the U.S. policy secretly changed from preventing Iran from acquiring the world’s most deadly weapon to simply managing an Iran with these weapons? Does anyone in their right mind believe that the world can manage a nuclear-armed Iran?
However, Iran having nuclear weapons was neither inevitable nor unavoidable. Israel has declared they will never allow Iran to have such a weapon, a vow reiterated by the previous U.S. Administration. Sanctions on Iran were working. Their economy was crashing, and the lack of financial resources had slowed down their nuclear research and development—to say nothing of their decreased ability to freely pay their terrorist proxies around the world. Iran’s gross domestic product had shrunk 60% between 2017 and 2020 thanks to U.S. sanctions. Inflation and weak bond sales were seriously damaging the economy. Protests in the streets threatened the regime’s power over its own people. Besides, the United States had withdrawn from the previous agreement, as it did not stop Iran from getting a weapon and Iran was already cheating on the agreement. Sanctions were working.
These facts must also be considered with the following additional weaknesses of the original JCPOA. The agreement did not forbid Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. It merely delayed it for approximately a decade. Additionally, the JCPOA did not give international inspectors the right to inspect anytime and at any location. IAEA inspectors had to give Iran advanced warning of planned inspections of nuclear facilities. And all Iranian military installations were off limits to all inspections. The JCPOA was a sham and a dangerous one at that.
Bottom Line: The original JCPOA allowed the world’s most dangerous country to possess the world’s most dangerous weapon. Iran’s chief strategic goal is to possess a nuclear weapon. They are well on the way to achieving that goal. Now is it apparent that the United States has resigned itself that they will achieve that goal? It is unthinkable that we would surrender to any further Iranian demands by lifting more sanctions and giving them billions of dollars in cash and releasing their assets frozen since 1979. At the very least, Iran should acquire a nuclear weapon despite the United States—not because we gave in to their demands or, even worse, helped them reach their malevolent goal.
The U.S. under the Biden Administration has been begging Iran to come back to the negotiating table, with the Biden team’s penchant for negotiating from a position of weakness. It has not worked. Peace through strength always works. Peace through weakness and acquiescence never works. Perhaps it is time for the United States to walk away from the table. If our allies in Europe really cared about peace and security (instead of the short-term financial benefits of dealing with Iran), they would follow us away from that table.