Iranian leaders are no doubt on their hands and knees praying to Allah that American voters will deliver a Democrat to the White House next November. It is their only chance of getting back the lopsided nuclear agreement that gave their economy an enormous boost without really forcing them to sacrifice much of anything in return. Every top Democratic candidate says they would return to the international nuclear agreement that the Obama administration negotiated with Iran in 2015. And since last week, when Iranian officials admitted that they were in violation of the terms of that deal, none of them have gone back on that vow.
Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that his nation was purposefully exceeding the 200 kilograms of enriched uranium they are allowed to stock under the terms of the agreement. This posed a difficult question for China, France, and other European nations who remain signatories to the deal: Since Iran is in admitted violation of the pact, shouldn’t we, uh…do something about it? They immediately answered that question with a resounding YES. They would…strongly “urge” Iran to comply with the agreement. And that’s about it. Good job, guys. Way to be strong.
But of course none of this is anything new, despite what the media says. Trump pulled out of the agreement precisely because Iran has been in violation of its terms since the first day. While this may or may not be the first occasion on which they’ve exceeded the amount of uranium they’re allowed to have (it’s hard to tell because of the lax investigation standards set forth in the deal), they have been in constant violation of other terms.
They’ve repeatedly gone over the limits of heavy water they’re supposed to have; said water is used in nuclear reactors as a precursor to plutonium, which is essential in the development of a bomb. They’ve run nuclear centrifuges in excess of what was allowed in the agreement. They’ve continued to try and purchase nuclear and missile technology. And because of a tremendous treasure trove of files recovered from Iran by Israel, we know that they are holding on to advanced plans to build a nuclear arsenal. Holding on for what, exactly? Well, the end of the agreement’s terms, at which point they hope to have boosted their treasury to the point that they no longer need to cooperate with the rest of the world.
That’s not even getting into the continued ballistic missile testing, nor into their continued funding of terrorism throughout the Middle East.
Signing this deal with Iran was a disaster in the first place; getting back into it at this point would be the ultimate show of weakness by the United States. Of all the dangerous ideas that 2020 Democrats are bringing to the table, this may be the one that undermines our security the most.
