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The Iran Nuclear Deal Is Dead. Let It Stay that Way

(Boston Globe) Jeff Jacoby - In a Pew Research poll in 2015, just 21% of Americans supported the Iran nuclear deal and were confident that Iran would live up to the deal's terms. Sanctions relief encouraged Tehran to redouble its belligerence. It entered Syria's civil war in support of Bashar Assad, helping to murder tens of thousands of civilians. It armed Houthi rebels in Yemen and subsidized Hizbullah terror in Lebanon and Europe. It violated UN bans on arms trafficking and ballistic missile activity. It repeatedly called for Israel's annihilation. And from the start, Iran breached its commitments under the nuclear deal. It amassed stockpiles of enriched uranium beyond the permitted limits, deceived and stonewalled international inspectors, and illicitly transferred advanced centrifuges to underground bunkers. For more than 40 years, the theocrats who rule Iran have broken diplomatic agreements, Security Council mandates, and international law. It was folly to imagine that the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism would become a responsible member of the world community if only America would agree to shower it with billions of dollars in cash and relieve the pressure of sanctions. Abandoning the nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions starved Tehran of resources that might otherwise have fueled its terror and ballistic missile operations. It incubated a strategic coalition uniting Israel and the Sunni Arab states in the Gulf, for whom resisting Iranian aggression is an existential priority. Jettisoning the deal didn't lead to more war. It led to more peace.
2020-11-26 00:00:00
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