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A $90 Billion U.S. Bailout to Tehran Could Undo Years of Progress

(Foreign Policy) Sen. Lindsey O. Graham and Morgan D. Ortagus - Rushing back into the 2015 Iran nuclear deal would lead to chaos and instability in the Middle East. President Biden has inherited a relatively peaceful Middle East marked by historic peace agreements between several Arab countries and Israel after decades. Yet returning the U.S. to a JCPOA 2.0 could reverse positive momentum by destabilizing the peaceful balance of power Biden inherited. Before the U.S. reimposed sanctions in 2018, Iran's central bank controlled more than $120 billion in foreign exchange reserves. After only two years of the maximum pressure campaign, Iran's reserves were down to $4 billion, while depriving the regime of $70 billion in oil revenues. The regime was forced to cut payments to its regional terror proxies. The moment Biden ends sanctions, the regime could receive a payday of $90 billion. Meanwhile, reinvigorated oil export would add $50 billion per year to the regime's coffers. Those billions would go a long way for the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Lindsey O. Graham is a U.S. senator from South Carolina. Morgan D. Ortagus was the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department from 2019 to 2021.
2021-05-06 00:00:00
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