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The Nuclear Deal with Iran Needs Work - Lots of It
(Wall Street Journal) James A. Baker III - There are substantial misunderstandings about the tentative agreement to curb Iran's nuclear-weapons program, a deal the administration has hailed as "an historic understanding." Iranian leaders quickly disputed key points about the White House's description of the terms of the agreement. There remain serious questions about more than the phasing out of sanctions. These include verification mechanisms, the "snapback" provisions for reapplying sanctions, and Iran's refusal so far to provide historical information about its nuclear-enrichment program so that there is a baseline against which to measure any future enrichment. Experience shows Iran cannot be trusted, and so those weaknesses need to be addressed and fixed. Iran backed away from its pledge to send a large portion of its uranium stockpile to Russia. If we can't trust Iran to stick to its promises during negotiations, we cannot trust that it won't resume its nuclear-weapons program after a final deal is reached. Let Iran and the world know that we have reasonable specific demands they must meet. If Iran balks at such an arrangement, then it will be that country's fault that the talks broke down. The writer is a former U.S. secretary of state.