It seems that the United States and Iran are about to re-enter the flawed 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal.
This outcome would follow almost a year of negotiations in Vienna between the U.S., China, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, and Iran. Citing three diplomatic sources, Reuters reports that “[t]he draft text of the agreement, which is more than 20 pages long, stipulates a sequence of steps to be implemented once it has been approved by the remaining parties to the deal, starting with a phase including Iran suspending enrichment above 5% purity.”
Iran has consistently proven that its nuclear program cannot be trusted. Iranian officers have repeatedly obstructed inspectors by stonewalling or banning them from its facilities. Iran has enriched uranium near to the level of purity required to produce a nuclear bomb. Moreover, the 2015 deal only temporarily limited Iranian enrichment as opposed to halting it altogether. The proposed deal would be no different. According to Reuters, the proposed deal would have Iran “return to core nuclear limits like the 3.67% cap on enrichment purity.”
We’re also told by Reuters that “the text alludes to other measures including the unfreezing of about $7 billion in Iranian funds stuck in South Korean banks under U.S. sanctions, as well as the release of Western prisoners held in Iran, which U.S. lead negotiator Robert Malley has suggested is a requirement for a deal.”
This might be good news for hostages, but it’s very bad news for the rest of us. After all, Iran, which openly chants “death to America” and “death to Israel,” is highly likely to use sanctions relief to fund its malign activities. That will mean providing tens of millions of dollars in new sponsorship for terrorist groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen. And forget the Iranian people: they will continue to suffer Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s abuse and utter disdain.
Reuters says that “the new agreement entails the U.S. granting waivers to sanctions on Iran’s lifeblood oil sector rather than lifting them outright. That requires renewing the waivers every few months.”
That’s a generous parsing of words. Let’s be clear, any oil sale relief will offer a much needed lifeline to the regime. It will undermine the successful maximum pressure campaign the Trump administration enacted in denying the mullahs the cash to fund their illicit activities.
That leaves us with a top line takeaway. Namely, that were this proposal to become reality, it would be nothing short of appeasement. The U.S. should show strength, not weakness, toward a regime that is hellbent on unleashing mayhem on the rest of the world. This proposal would not be that.
Jackson Richman is a journalist in Washington, D.C. Follow him @jacksonrichman.
