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Repairing the Iran Nuclear Deal's Damage

(Times of Israel) Ephraim Asculai and Emily B. Landau - It is imperative for the next U.S. president to take steps to strengthen compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, and deliver new messages of determination to Iran. By insisting on keeping its nuclear infrastructure, Iran succeeded in maintaining its nuclear "breakout" capability. Indeed, in contrast to their initial stated aim of dismantling Iran's nuclear program, the P5+1 ultimately agreed to a significantly watered-down goal: namely, to extend Iran's possible breakout to nuclear weapons from an estimated 2-3 months to a year. But once the deal expires, breakout time will again be reduced to two months or even less. The sunset clauses of the Iran deal must be revisited, and no automatic passage from one stage to the next should be permitted, unless the P5+1 unanimously agree. More importantly, Iran's international and internal behavior should be the benchmark against which the expiration of restrictions is assessed, including not only its nuclear behavior, but support for terror and rejection of Israel's place in the Middle East. In addition to improvements regarding the JCPOA agreement itself, things need to change in terms of U.S.-Iran interactions. Iran has been exploiting the eagerness of the Obama administration to ignore and/or attempt to explain away all moves Iran has made over the past year to strengthen its position in the military realm and across the Middle East. Until Iran indicates that it plans to be a willing international and regional player, it cannot be treated as one, especially when it comes to the nuclear realm. Dr. Ephraim Asculai, a senior research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University, worked at the Israel Atomic Energy Commission for over 40 years. Dr. Emily B. Landau is Head of the Arms Control Program at INSS.
2016-11-17 00:00:00
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