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Considerations on U.S. Policy towards Iran

(American Enterprise Institute) Amb. Nikki Haley - UN Ambassador Nikki Haley discussed U.S. policy toward Iran at the American Enterprise Institute on Sept. 5: "Many observers...think, 'Well, as long as Iran is meeting the limits on enriched uranium and centrifuges, then it's complying with the deal.' That's not true....Next month, President Trump will once again be called upon to declare whether he finds Iran in compliance with the terms of the deal. It should be noted that this requirement to assess compliance does not come from the deal itself. It was created by Congress in the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act....If the President chooses not to certify Iranian compliance, that does not mean the United States is withdrawing from the JCPOA." "The truth is, the Iran deal has so many flaws that it's tempting to leave it. But the deal was constructed in a way that makes leaving it less attractive. It gave Iran what it wanted up-front, in exchange for temporary promises to deliver what we want. That's not good." "The deal [President Obama] struck wasn't supposed to be just about nuclear weapons. It was meant to be an opening with Iran; a welcoming back into the community of nations....We were promised an 'end' to the Iranian nuclear program. What emerged was not an end, but a pause....We were promised 'anytime, anywhere' inspections....Iranian leaders...have stated publicly that they will refuse to allow IAEA inspections of their military sites." "Why did we need to prevent the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons in the first place? The answer has everything to do with the nature of the regime, and the IRGC's determination to threaten Iran's neighbors and advance its revolution." "When the nuclear agreement was signed, the Obama Administration took Iran's non-nuclear activity - the missile development, the arms smuggling, the terrorism, the support for murderous regimes - and rolled it up into one UN Security Council resolution - 2231....Every six months, the UN Secretary General reports to the Security Council on the Iranian regime's compliance with this so-called 'non-nuclear' resolution." "Each report is filled with devastating evidence of Iranian violations. Proven arms smuggling. Violations of travel bans. Ongoing support for terrorism. Stoking of regional conflicts....[And] ample evidence of ballistic missile technology and launches....They are clearly acting in defiance of UN Resolution 2231." "We must consider not just the Iranian regime's technical violations of the JCPOA, but also its violations of Resolution 2231 and its long history of aggression. We must consider the regime's repeated, demonstrated hostility toward the United States. We must consider its history of deception about its nuclear program. And we must consider the day when the terms of the JCPOA sunset. That's a day when Iran's military may very well already have the missile technology to send a nuclear warhead to the United States."
2017-09-06 00:00:00
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