Telling the White House Iran would not renegotiate the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPA], AKA the Iranian Nuke Deal, 56-year-old U.S.-educated Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned President Donald Trump about opting out. Negotiated over two years by former Secretary of State John Kerry and Zarif, the deal struck July 15, 2015 between the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany suspended Iran’s weapons grade uranium enrichment program for 10 years in exchange for about $150 billion in sanctions relief, but, more importantly, allowing Iran to sell oil back on world markets. Saying Iran would not “renegotiate or add onto” the JCPA. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu practically stood on his head March 3, 2015 telling a joint session of Congress that passing the agreement would give Iran a clear path to the bomb.
Former President Barack Obama subscribed to the idea the some agreement was better than no agreement, despite the fact that Iran categorically denied ever enriching uranium with the intention of building a nuclear weapon. No one in the U.S. or European Union believed Iran’s denials, working feverishly on a uranium enrichment moratorium to delay Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon. Faced with a May 12 deadline, Trump and his 54-year-old newly minted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinted that they’ll vacate Obama’s deal and re-impose new economic sanctions. Saudi’s Defense Minister Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged President Trump to back out of the deal, recognizing Iran’s role in arming Houthi rebels in their war in Yemen. Bin Salman also sees Iran’s growing military role in Syria, together with Russia, continuing to destabilize the Middle East and Saudi Peninsula.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani warned Trump April 24 about opting out of the deal or expecting any changes. He threatened “dire consequences,” hinting Iran would restart its uranium enrichment activities. If Iran had no intent of building an A-bomb, why would Rouhani and Zarif warn the U.S. of “dire consequences” should the U.S. pull out of the JCPA? “On 11 occasions since, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has confirmed that Iran has implemented all of its obligations,” said Zarif, not admitting, that the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] has had zero access to Iran’s sensitive military sites. Without intrusive inspections at military sites, there’s no way to verifty compliance with the JCPA or, more importantly, whether or not Iran has stopped its weapons grade uranium enrichment program. Obama saw no farther than how the JCPA looked on his presidential resume.
Zarif accused Trump of violating the JCPA by pressuring countries from doing business with Iran. “In contrast, the U.S. has consistently violated the agreement, especially by bullying others from doing business with Iran,” said Zarif. Zarif mentions nothing about Iran’s proxy wars in Syria and Yemen, supplying Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Yemen’s Houthi rebels with cash-and-arms. If Zarif has a beef, it’s with Saudi Arabia not the U.S. Trump’s decision to pull out of the JCPA stems entirely from whether the deal improves or harms U.S. national security. Unable to get the IAEA into Iran’s sensitive military sites makes the agreement worthless. Zarif had plenty of tantrums before Kerry finally capitulated, believing the deal was the best the U.S. could get at the time. Ending U.S. sanctions and handing Iran billions in cash did not decrease Iran’s ability to build an A-bomb.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian workers on “Labor Day” to ignore Trump’s threats of abandoning the agreement. “My dear ones, notice that our enemies have understood that they will not accomplish anything in a difficult military war,” said Khamenei, ignoring the real impact of Trump pulling out of the Nuke Deal. Re-imposing new sanctions would cripple an economy already reeling from its currency losing 50% of its value. “A few years ago, another U.S. president—who was as bad tempered, nonsensical and foolish as this one—said certain things against us,” said Khamenei referring to former President George W. Bush. Judging by how Iran faired in the nearly eight-year-old Iran-Iraq War [1980-1988]. Khamenei should restrain from insulting Trump, knowing the U.S. military could inflict serious damage on Iran’s petroleum industry and economy.
World leaders need to look carefully at Iran’s role in Syria and Yemen after signing the JCPA. Despite agreeing to suspend ballistic missile activity, Iran has supplied Houthi rebels with medium-range ballistic missiles to hit Saudi Arabia. Already seeing missiles strike Riyadh’s International Airport, the international community must look at the bigger picture, not whether or not Iran continues to suspend uranium enrichment activities. “Let me make it absolutely clear once and for all: We will neither outsource our security nor will we renegotiate or add onto a deal we have already implemented in good faith,” said Zarif, warning Trump to not back out of the JCPA. With the best intel at their disposal, Trump and Pompeo won’t be intimidated by Iranian threats of more enrichment activity.
