(Politico) Richard Goldberg and Dennis Ross - President Ronald Reagan successfully negotiated a major arms control agreement with the Soviet Union, all while publicly calling it an "evil empire," promoting regime change, and applying economic pressure tied to the Soviet record on human rights. President Trump would be well within his rights under the JCPOA and international law to follow Reagan's example. Just as the Iranian regime feels free to spread its reach within the region, notwithstanding the JCPOA, so should the U.S. and Europe feel free to impose sanctions tied to human rights, terror and missiles. The sanctions relief provided under the JCPOA should not be interpreted as blanket immunity for Iranian officials, banks and other government instrumentalities to expand their illicit activities. The JCPOA cannot handcuff the U.S. and its allies from using all available means of state power to fulfill our international obligations on human rights, terrorism and proliferation. Richard Goldberg, an architect of congressionally enacted sanctions against Iran, is senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Amb. Dennis Ross, former special assistant to President Barack Obama, is a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
2018-01-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive