(Fathom-BICOM-UK) Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser - The Biden administration's attitude toward Iran is based on false assumptions and is both counterproductive and self-defeating. The false assumptions are that the JCPOA was a good deal with some flaws that can be fixed through bona fide negotiations with Iran; that Iran can be convinced to adopt a different attitude towards its opponents in the region; that the U.S. can promote a more pragmatic camp inside the Iranian regime; that the "maximum pressure" policy failed; and that the progress Iran has made in its nuclear program by violating its JCPOA commitments may enable it to have the capability to produce its first nuclear weapon within a short period of time. The reality is quite the opposite. The "maximum pressure" policy caused the Iranian economy and regime enormous difficulties and provides Biden with a golden opportunity to force Iran to accept a much better deal than the JCPOA, if he keeps the policy in place as leverage. It would be possible to craft a new agreement that will deal with the huge deficiencies of the JCPOA, rather than simply bring Iran back to the 2015 deal, which is exactly where Iran wants to be, since the agreement paves the way for Iran to have the capability to produce a big arsenal of nuclear weapons after the limits on its nuclear activities are lifted in 2030. If Iran makes any gesture now regarding the sanctions and the sequence of returning to the JCPOA, it is going to be seen as flexible and worthy of praise for doing exactly what it wants and the option of a better agreement is going to be lost. Meanwhile, Israel is showing that there are better ways to prevent Iran from having the capability to produce nuclear weapons. The writer, Director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, was formerly Director General of the Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs and head of the Research Division of IDF Military Intelligence.
2021-04-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive