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NYT: "The nations controlling the
world's nuclear inspection agency voted on Tuesday to close its
decade-long investigation into the work it suspected Iran of conducting
to design a nuclear weapon, and instead to move ahead with fulfilling the
deal signed in July to limit Iran's production of atomic material for at
least 15 years. The unanimous vote by the International Atomic Energy
Agency's board of governors ends the agency's long-running, and largely
unsuccessful, effort to get Iran to fully answer a series of questions
about suspected activities. 'This closes the board's consideration of
this item,' said the resolution, which was drafted by the United States
and its five partners in the negotiations with Iran - Britain, China,
France, Germany and Russia. In a report issued nearly two weeks ago, the
agency concluded that until 2003 Iran had conducted what Yukiya Amano,
the agency's director general, called on Tuesday 'a coordinated effort'
on 'a range of activities relevant to the development of a nuclear
explosive device.' Iran continued with some activities through 2009, Mr.
Amano said, but after that there have been 'no credible indications' of
continued weapons development. Iranian officials immediately hailed the
vote and said it would allow implementation of the July accord, including
the release, perhaps as early as January, of about $100 billion in frozen
funds and an end to oil and financial sanctions that have crippled the
Iranian economy. 'The fabricated issue of the so-called military
dimension of Iran's nuclear program is now history,' Mohammad Javad
Zarif, Iran's foreign minister and its chief negotiator on the nuclear
deal, said on Tuesday, according to the Tasnim News Agency, a
semiofficial government news outlet in Tehran... Mr. Kerry said in a
statement that the resolution allows the atomic energy agency 'to turn
its focus now to the full implementation and verification' of the new
deal, 'which prohibits the resumption of such nuclear weapons-related
activities and provides comprehensive tools for deterring and detecting
any renewed nuclear weapons work.' He argued that the resolution would
'in no way preclude the I.A.E.A. from investigation if there is a reason
to believe Iran is pursuing any covert nuclear activities in the future,
as it had in the past.' ... Outside experts were also largely
unsatisfied. David Albright, the nuclear expert who founded the Institute
for Science and International Security, a Washington research group,
concluded in a report last week that 'Iran did not provide the I.A.E.A.
with anywhere near a full declaration about its past nuclear
weapons-related activities, and it did not provide the kind of
transparency and cooperation required for the I.A.E.A. to conclude its
investigation.' Michael Singh, a critic of the nuclear deal who served on
the National Security Council under President George W. Bush and is now
at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, argued that allowing
Iran to leave doubts about the history of its nuclear effort was a
fundamental mistake. 'By protecting its nuclear secrets, accepting only
temporary constraints' on its production of nuclear material and
'advancing its missile program, Iran is keeping its nuclear options open
for the future,' Mr. Singh said in an op-ed article Monday in The Wall
Street Journal, written with Simond de Galbert, a fellow at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies in Washington." http://t.uani.com/1O5Zw0X
WSJ: "Iran violated a United Nations
Security Council resolution by testing a new ballistic missile in
October, a panel of experts found in a confidential report, increasing
pressure on the Obama administration as it moves to implement a separate
international nuclear deal with Tehran. U.S. officials asked the Security
Council on Tuesday to address the Oct. 10 test and a second launch on
Nov. 21 of a ballistic missile capable of delivering atomic weapons. The
council, however, adjourned without taking action... The missile tests
raise fears about the intentions of regime hard-liners, including Iran's
paramount political figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once
the constraints of the economic sanctions are lifted. Critics of the
agreement said it added up to a situation that allowed Iran to misbehave
with impunity. The Obama administration is facing a two-way test: It
wants to implement the agreement as a cornerstone of President Barack
Obama's foreign policy, but also must deliver on pledges to maintain a
tough stance against Iran's efforts to promote a Middle East agenda
frequently at odds with U.S. interests. The developments at the U.N. came
on the same day diplomats in Vienna unanimously decided to close an
investigation into Iran's past nuclear-weapons programs... 'I fear the
Iranians are taking action after action in this area and others to
demonstrate that they are willing to flout international rules,
regulations and restrictions, and in the absence of our decisive action,
these misdeeds by the Iranians will simply continue and escalate,' said
Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) on the Senate floor. Mr. Coons and other U.S.
lawmakers said that if the U.N. doesn't retaliate with punishment as
allowed by Security Council resolutions still in force, then the U.S.
should take unilateral action. 'Iran's lies and obstruction have paid
off,' said Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, of the decision by the board of governors at the
International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, to close
the investigation into Iran's past activities. He called the decision a
'capitulation.' Israel, which strongly opposed the nuclear pact, said
that 'serious doubts and outstanding issues regarding Iran's program
still remain,' despite the IAEA decision. 'For over a decade, Iran has
been non-cooperative and deceptive,' a foreign ministry spokesman said...
Members of the Security Council debated the committee's report on Iran's
violations, but diplomats said the discussion was inconclusive. Russia
and China-which hold veto power-refused to condemn Iran. 'They are
concerned that the nuclear deal with Iran would fall apart if any action
is taken,' said a Western diplomat. The U.S. and its European allies
called for Iran to be held accountable. But U.S. Ambassador Samantha
Power didn't say what measure should be taken or introduce a resolution.
'This will be a long-term challenge,' she said. France's representative
expressed concern that Iran's violations so soon after reaching the nuclear
deal 'hardly bode well and demonstrates the extent to which we must be
wary.' The report on the missile launch, reviewed by The Wall Street
Journal, said the ballistic missile, dubbed Emad, was an improved version
of previous missiles, with a range of up to 1,300 kilometers (800 miles),
a payload of up to 1,400 kilograms (1.5 tons), and better maneuvering
capability when descending on a target. 'Iran is continuing to focus on
further improvement of the performance of its existing ballistic-missile
system with a particular focus on accuracy,' said the report." http://t.uani.com/1O8uM5w
FT: "European diplomats involved in
the Iran nuclear talks are concerned that US legislation tightening visa
procedures for some visitors could breach the nuclear agreement with Iran
which is due to be implemented early next year. The House of
Representatives passed a bill last week that excludes anyone who has
travelled to Iran, Syria, Iraq and Somalia from the visa-free travel
system to the US that covers most EU countries. Some European officials
believe that by obliging executives who have visited Iran to apply for a
visa if they want to travel to the US, the bill could breach a commitment
in the nuclear deal to avoid steps that damage the 'normalisation' of
economic ties with Iran... The concerns about the visa legislation also
form part of a broader European unease that the remaining US sanctions on
Iran will still make it hard to do business in the country even after the
nuclear deal goes into effect next year... A senior official at one of
the EU countries involved in the Iran talks said Tehran could have a
legitimate complaint if the House bill were to become law. 'They could
argue that European businessmen will be more reluctant to go to Iran if
that would then make it harder to visit the US,' the official said.
Another senior European official said the bill would create a further
problem by obliging the tens of thousands of Iranian dual nationals in
Europe to apply for visas. But the official said the dispute over visas
would not derail the nuclear deal because any impact on business would be
limited. A senior US official said that the bill did not breach the
nuclear agreement because it was designed to address questions about
national security and was not focused on trade relations with Iran. The
bill would not bar people who have visited Iran from travelling to the
US, but would 'simply require' them to use 'generally applicable
procedures for visas'... Abbas Araghchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister,
said at the weekend that Iran was reviewing the bill but that it would
'take action' if it proved to be against the nuclear deal, according to
Iranian media... As the implementation of the Iran deal approaches,
European officials have expressed broader worries that their companies
could still be in breach of the remaining US sanctions if they started
doing business in Iran. Some European officials worry that US sanctions
on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps could be applied to large
sections of the Iranian economy given the broad economic influence of the
IRGC. The continued restrictions on the use of the US dollar in trade
with Iran could dissuade European banks from doing business with the
country, officials say. They are also concerned that individual
attorneys-general will implement the remaining sanctions much more
aggressively than any guidance given by the administration." http://t.uani.com/1Npzoks
Nuclear
Program & Agreement
Reuters: "Iran is hurrying to implement
its side of a deal with world powers so as to bring about the lifting of
international sanctions as quickly as possible, Tehran's envoy to the
U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday. The envoy, Reza Najafi, was
speaking shortly after the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation
board decided to close its investigation of Iran's past nuclear
activities, throwing its support behind Tehran's deal with major powers.
Under that deal, Iran must shrink its nuclear program. Once the IAEA has
verified that a series of restrictions on its Tehran's atomic activities
are in place, international sanctions that have buffeted the Iranian
economy will be lifted. 'We are intending to complete this process within
two to three weeks, so accelerate the implementation day as soon as
possible,' Najafi told reporters after an exceptional IAEA board meeting
at which a resolution on Iran was passed... IAEA Director-General Yukiya
Amano said it appeared Iran was moving 'at quite high speed' to put all
the measures in place, but the agency would need weeks after Iran had
finished to verify that it had done everything required of it. Najafi
said removing and filling the Arak reactor's core vessel, known as a
calandria, would be the hardest of the requirements to implement. A fuel
swap with Russia, in which much of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium
will be exchanged for a less refined form of uranium known as yellowcake,
would be relatively simple and could happen quickly, he added." http://t.uani.com/1ZbZQTU
AP: "Iran's firing of a
medium-range ballistic missile in October violated U.N. sanctions banning
the Islamic Republic from launches capable of delivering nuclear weapons,
U.N. experts said in a new report... The United States, France, Britain
and Germany asked the Security Council on Oct. 21 to investigate and take
'appropriate action' against Iran for the Oct. 10 missile launch. The
Dec. 11 report by experts from the council committee monitoring sanctions
against Iran supports the contention of the four countries that the
firing violated U.N. sanctions. Whether the Security Council takes any
action remains to be seen. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power accused some
unnamed council members of refusing to take action against Iran for
sanctions violations in recent months, but said the United States will
keep pressing for enforcement. 'Instead of an effective, timely response
the Security Council has dithered,' she told a council meeting
considering a report from the Iran sanctions committee. She pointed to
the lack of action on the Oct. 10 missile launch, a visit to Moscow by
Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, who is subject to a U.N. travel
ban, and the interception off the coast of Oman of a banned shipment of
arms from Iran in late September. 'This council cannot allow Iran to feel
that it can violate our resolutions with impunity,' Power said, stressing
the importance of sanctions enforcement for 'a credible, enforceable
nuclear deal.' ... The panel said it has not yet investigated a
subsequent Iranian ballistic missile launch reported by the media on Nov.
21 and therefore 'cannot determine whether it was another Emad test.' ...
The report by the chair of the Iran Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Román
Oyarzunttee, cited another investigation by the panel into an allegation
that Iran attempted to procure titanium alloy bars, which can withstand
extreme temperatures and be used in military and space equipment, in
violation of sanctions. It said the panel 'could not reach a definitive
conclusion on this being 'a willful violation' by Iranian
authorities.'" http://t.uani.com/1mo100h
AFP: "Iran will not accept any
limitations on its missile program, Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said
Wednesday after U.N. experts accused Tehran of violating a Security
Council resolution. The test-firing of the Emad missile on October 10,
three months after a historic nuclear deal, prompted a demand by Britain,
France, Germany and the United States for a probe by a U.N. Security
Council sanctions committee. 'Despite the pressures and a poisonous
atmosphere, we tested the Emad missile and announced its range,' Dehghan
said, according to his ministry's website. 'The aim was to tell the world
that the Islamic Republic of Iran acted in accordance with its national
interests and ... will not accept any limitations in this area,' the
general said." http://t.uani.com/1Ow8qFB
U.S.-Iran
Relations
RFE/RL: "Iran has banned the import of
hundreds of American goods that include toilet paper, shuttlecocks, and
tanks in a move that appears largely designed to clap alarm bells about
creeping U.S. influence. The 227-item ban list was issued by the Trade
Promotion Organization of Iran on December 14 and reportedly sent to the
relevant provincial authorities. The measure comes against a backdrop of
warnings among hard-liners that a recent agreement to curb Tehran's
nuclear program could open the door to growing U.S. influence and
'infiltration.' U.S. law has long prohibited U.S. individuals or entities
from doing business with Iran, a result of the storming of the U.S.
Embassy in Tehran and taking of American hostages in 1979-81, and that
continuing trade embargo would appear to make this recent Iranian move
unnecessary. But Iranian Commerce and Industry Minister Reza Nematzadeh
last month ordered a ban on U.S. consumer goods. He touted a necessity
'to stop the entry of American consumer goods and to prohibit products
that symbolize the presence of the United States in the country.'
Nematzadeh cited a demand by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to empower
Iranian production and avoid U.S. consumer goods. Khamenei, who has the
last say on political and religious affairs in the Islamic republic, has
repeatedly warned since the nuclear deal was signed in July of U.S.
efforts to 'infiltrate' Iran -- including using money and sex to achieve
Washington's purported aim... Tehran's interim Friday Prayers leader,
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, was quoted last month as saying that the United
States uses 'sandwiches' to expand its influence. 'Whenever America has
aimed at entering a country, it has done so through sandwiches and
McDonald's [restaurants] and opened an infiltration window,' Khatami
said, according to domestic media." http://t.uani.com/1lPBMbp
Fars
(Iran):
"Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General
Mohammad Ali Jafari underlined Iran's growing might and power, and said
the enemies have also admitted this fact. 'Today, everyone is speaking
about the Islamic Republic's might and the enemies have also admitted it
and have surrendered to the Islamic Revolution's power and we see this
clearly,' Jafari said, addressing a gathering of Basiji (Volunteer)
forces in the Northeastern city of Mashhad on Wednesday. He also stressed
that 37 years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, it is
still continuing its path more powerfully than ever. Jafari, meantime,
warned that the enemies have resorted to new and highly complicated
methods to weaken Iran's power, and said, 'Their goal has not changed and
they have only changed their method, and we should also know that while
the Revolution stays on course, hostility of the enemies, specially the
US, will not fade away and it is just their method that changes.'" http://t.uani.com/1QMutwf
Congressional
Action
The Hill: "Sen. Chris Coons is pushing
the Obama administration to hold Iran accountable over a pair of
ballistic missile tests, suggesting it should send a message that the
country won't be able to get away with incremental violations of its
nuclear deal. 'While these ballistic missile tests are outside of the
parameters of the [joint comprehensive plan of action], our response has
to be strategic and we have to make sure Iran knows that it can't
continue to simply blatantly disregard the international community and
the U.N. Security Council,' the Democratic senator said. Coons, a member
of the Foreign Relations Committee, added that if the United Nations
Security Council doesn't taken action against Iran over the tests, which
he said violated U.N. resolutions, that the administration should be
ready to take a 'series of unilateral American actions including direct
sanctions.' His comments come amid reports that Iran launched a ballistic
missile test in November, which would mark the second in as many months.
While Republicans have repeatedly questioned the administration over the
tests, Coons is also the latest Democrat in the past week to raise
concerns. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) slammed 'silence' from the
administration and the international community in the wake of the tests.
'What has happened as a result of Iran violating the U.N. Security
Council resolutions as it relates to missile testing? Absolutely
nothing,' he said from the Senate floor last week." http://t.uani.com/1I8VsAS
Sanctions
Relief
Tasnim
(Iran):
"Commander of Khatam al-Anbia Construction Base, a conglomerate
belonging to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said the base's
capabilities preclude the need for the presence of any foreign contractor
to carry out oil and gas projects in Iran. 'On the construction of oil
and gas refineries, I announce firmly today that there is no need for
(presence of) foreign countries and companies,' General Ebadollah
Abdollahi said at a press conference in Tehran on Monday. He underlined
that Iran will not need to solicit 'engineering expertise' from
foreigners either, thanks to the indigenous capabilities. The general
said he has already reminded the Oil Ministry officials that the real
intent behind the foreign companies' eagerness to enter Iran is
investment for their own benefit only. He made the comments when asked
about his view on Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh's call on the
foreign investors to handle the oil projects in Iran." http://t.uani.com/1T1EViK
SHANA (Iran): "An official from the German
firm Thyssenkrupp said uncomplicated access to feedstock, and proper
infrastructure have turned Iran's petrochemical industry to an appealing
destination for foreign investors. 'The high number of foreign companies
in the ongoing Iran Petrochemical Forum (IPF 2015) demonstrates the
optimism they have toward prospects of the market and ample opportunities
for investment in Iran,' Jens Derek told Shana on the sidelines of the
conference here on Sunday. 'First, we intend to analyze our ties with
Iran in the pre-sanctions period. Next, we will identify areas of
cooperation based on the analysis of the past developments as well as
emerging demands,' he added. 'We are considering establishment of local
representation offices in order to create job opportunities and import
our exclusive technologies to Iran,' said Derek. 'Considering Iran's
appropriate infrastructure and plenty feedstock in the petrochemical
industry, foreign investors are interested to invest in our country's petrochemical
projects,' Managing Director of National Petrochemical Company (NPC)
Abbas Shari-Moqaddam told reporters after opening the IPF2015. 'We expect
that with finalization of pricing for feedstock in near future, the
foreign investment process can be expedited,' said NPC's CEO." http://t.uani.com/1MgY1Me
SHANA
(Iran): "Representative
of Italy's major export credit agency SACE at IPF2015 says public funds
must be injected into petrochemical development projects in Iran to
accelerate the industry's growth. Giulio Dal Magro, head of heavy
industries division of Sace SpA, said his company is prepared to return
to Iran's petrochemical industry after the removal of sanctions on
Tehran's nuclear program. He said the Italian government underwrites the
presence of Italian companies in Iran after the sanctions removal.
Addressing a specialized panel at the 12th Iran Petrochemical Forum here
in Tehran on Monday, Magro said the Italian company enjoys a turnover of
more than 40 billion euros of which only 40% concerns oil and gas
activities. During the panel, Magro spoke about Sace's solutions for the
Iranian market. He said Sace can insure petrochemical projects in Iran to
foreign banks and has already started some activities related to
providing foreign finances for companies willing to operate in Iran's
petrochemical sector. In August, Investment bank Mediobanca said in a
statement that it, along with Italy's development ministry and export
credit agency SACE, had signed a memorandum of understanding during the
visit with Iran's economy ministry and its central bank. The aim of the agreement
was 'to facilitate future economic and commercial relations between the
two countries,' the statement said." http://t.uani.com/1Owac9I
Terrorism
NYT: "A federal prosecutor is trying
to revive a criminal complaint filed by Alberto Nisman, a prosecutor who
died in mysterious circumstances earlier this year. Mr. Nisman had
accused Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, then the president, of trying to
shield former Iranian officials he suspected of planning a 1994 bombing
of a Jewish center here in exchange for trade benefits. Mr. Nisman's
complaint, which Mrs. Kirchner believed was part of a plot to destabilize
her administration, dissolved in Argentina's courts when a three-judge
panel ruled unanimously in May to accept another prosecutor's decision to
drop it. That prosecutor, Javier de Luca, concluded that there was no
crime on which to base an investigation. But shortly after Argentina's
new government moved on Monday to abandon a public pact with Iran that
Mr. Nisman had claimed was intended to serve as cover for the secret deal
described in his complaint, the prosecutor, Raúl Pleé, sought to revive
the case, according to Télam, the state news agency." http://t.uani.com/1Npy54W
Syria
Conflict
Reuters: "The commander of foreign
operations for Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards visited Russia last week
and met President Vladimir Putin, Fars news agency reported on Wednesday,
a sign of closer ties as their regional alliance gains momentum. General
Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force, last visited in July to aid in
planning the Russian military intervention in Syria. Russia and Iran
support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebels in that country's
civil war. Backed by Russian air strikes, hundreds of Iranian troops have
arrived in Syria since late September to take part in a pro-government
ground offensive, their biggest deployment in the country to date.
Soleimani has been subject to an international travel ban and asset
freeze by the U.N. Security Council since 2007 for his alleged role in
illicit arms trafficking and smuggling nuclear materials. 'General
Soleimani held a meeting with President Putin and high-ranking Russian
military and security officials during a three-day visit last week...
They discussed the latest developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and
Lebanon,' Fars said, quoting unnamed sources. Soleimani has helped lead
Iran's efforts to fight armed insurgents in Syria and neighboring Iraq
and reports directly to the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei. Last month, Putin met Khamenei in Tehran. Iranian officials
described the two-hour meeting as 'unprecedented in the history of both
countries.' According to the unnamed sources quoted by Fars, Putin called
Soleimani 'my friend, Qassem' during their meeting." http://t.uani.com/1I8VWqA
Human
Rights
IHR: "Iranian media announced today
that Iran and the United Nations' Office for Drugs and Crimes (UNODC)
have signed a new 5-year cooperation deal. The state run Fars news agency
reported that 'the pact was signed by Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza
Rahmani Fazli and UNODC Deputy Director General and Executive Director
Yury Fedotov in a meeting in Vienna on Monday, 14. december 2015... The
cooperation between Iran and the UNODC has been criticized by the human
rights organizations due to Iran's use of the death penalty for
drug-related crimes. The cooperation between Iran and the UNODC has been
funded by several European countries. Human rights groups, including Iran
Human Rights (IHR) have previously called on the UNODC and the countries
funding its Iran programs to condition their anti-drugs cooperation on a
moratorium on the death penalty for drug offences. Iran is the country
with the highest number of the death penalty for drug offences. According
to IHR's reports at least 2500 people have been executed since 2010 for
drug-related charges in Iran. Last week IHR once again called for the
UNODC to ensure no more executions for drug offences before supporting
anti-narcotic projects in Iran." http://t.uani.com/1RRK1Qe
Foreign
Affairs
AFP: "Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani has telephoned his Nigerian counterpart to protest the army's
deadly crackdown on pro-Iranian Shiites in the north of the African
country, media reported Tuesday. Rouhani called President Muhammadu
Buhari to say that 'minor disputes must not be allowed to turn into deep
differences' among Muslims, the reports said. He also requested
information on the fate of the leader of Nigeria's 'Shia Muslims', a
commission of inquiry into the weekend crackdown and action by Nigeria to
'appease the victims and restore calm'. Nigeria's charge d'affaires was
told by the foreign ministry in Tehran late Monday that Iran 'demands the
Nigerian government immediately shed light on the incidents, treat the
injured and compensate for damages', IRNA said. Foreign Minister Mohammad
Javad Zarif also called for 'immediate and serious action to prevent
violence' against Shiites, in a telephone call to his Nigerian counterpart,
Geoffrey Onyeama. Dozens of people demonstrated Tuesday outside Nigeria's
embassy in Tehran to protest against 'the massacre of Shiites', while
around 100 students rallied at a university campus, local media reported.
The army clashed on Saturday and early Sunday in the largely Sunni Muslim
north with the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and arrested its leader,
Ibrahim Zakzaky. The IMN seeks to establish an Islamic state through an
Iranian-styled revolution." http://t.uani.com/1lPBilA
Opinion
& Analysis
Eliot A.
Cohen, Eric S. Edelman & Ray Takeyh in Foreign Affairs: "The nuclear deal that the
United States and five other great powers signed with Iran in July 2015
is the final product of a decadelong effort at arms control. That effort
included sanctions in an attempt to impede Iran's quest for a nuclear
weapons capability. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA,
ranks as one of the most deficient arms control agreements in history.
But U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to spend the remainder of his
tenure fending off congressional pressures to adjust its terms. An even
larger issue, however, is Washington's lack of a comprehensive Iran policy.
For decades, the United States has refused to deal with the crucial
subject that makes the nuclear issue so important, which is the nature of
the Iranian regime. Any Iran policy worthy of the name must start from
the fact that the Islamic Republic is not a conventional state making
pragmatic estimates of its national interests but a revolutionary regime.
U.S. policymakers since the days of President Ronald Reagan have failed
to understand that there can be no rapprochement between the two
governments, because, as Iran's leaders understand, that would undo the
very existence of the Iranian regime. They have overlooked the fact that
Iran is an exceptionally dangerous state-to its neighbors, to close U.S.
allies such as Israel, and to the broader stability of the Middle East.
Given the serious challenge Iran poses to U.S. interests, Washington
should seek to roll back the country's growing influence in the Middle
East while systematically eroding the foundations of its power. In the
long term, the Islamic Republic will join the Soviet Union and other
ideological relics of the twentieth century in eventual collapse. Until
then, however, there can be no real peace between Washington and Tehran.
No sensible Iran policy can coexist with the JCPOA as it stands today.
The agreement recognizes Iran's right to enrich uranium and eventually
industrialize that capacity. It concedes that Iran can construct an
elaborate nuclear infrastructure for research and development. It
establishes a verification system that gives Iran far too much advance
notice of inspections and does not meaningfully limit the development of
ballistic missiles, a pillar of any nuclear weapons program. It does not
provide adequate access to the facilities and scientists involved in
Iran's past work on nuclear weapons, thus denying inspectors the
knowledge they need to assess the scope of Iran's current program. And
after 15 years, once the agreement expires, Iran will be free to build as
many nuclear installations as it wants, accumulate as much enriched
uranium as it wishes, and enrich that uranium to whatever level it deems
necessary. In essence, the JCPOA establishes Iran as a threshold nuclear
power today and paves the way for an eventual Iranian bomb. The agreement
will also encourage Iran's regional rivals to go nuclear. Iran's Sunni
competitors for power, particularly Saudi Arabia, are unlikely to stand
idly by as Iran looks forward to a near future in which it faces no
nuclear restraints. The United Arab Emirates, which had renounced uranium
enrichment as part of its civilian nuclear agreement with the United
States, is now reconsidering its pledge. Ironically, the Obama
administration will likely provoke the very nuclear arms race it hoped to
avoid. Supporters of the deal point to the economic exigencies that
compelled Tehran to agree to it, but Tehran was also motivated by the
scientific imperatives of building nuclear weapons... Given the many
disturbing aspects of the JCPOA, the next U.S. president must revise it.
Even Secretary of State John Kerry has acknowledged that a future
administration might want to find 'some way to strengthen it.' Indeed,
there are a number of ways to do so. Most important, the United States
should undo the sunset clause, which lifts some of the most essential
restrictions on Iran's program within as little as eight years. Instead
of having an arbitrary timeline determine the longevity of the accord,
U.S. officials should insist that when the deal expires, the United
States, the five other great powers that signed the deal, and Iran hold a
majority vote on whether to extend the agreement's restrictions for an
additional five years-and that such a vote be held every five years
thereafter. The precedent for such a move is the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty: after that treaty expired, the vast majority of the member states
voted to extend it in perpetuity... According to the Obama
administration, any attempt to revisit the JCPOA's procedures would spark
an international outcry, isolating the United States from its allies.
Such overwrought claims ignore the fact that the JCPOA is not a legally
binding treaty but a voluntary political agreement. Moreover, the JCPOA
commands the support of neither the American public nor its elected
representatives in Congress. A new president can and should reconsider
it... A regime as dangerous to U.S. interests as Tehran requires a
comprehensive strategy to counter it. That means exploiting all of Iran's
vulnerabilities: increasing the costs of its foreign adventures,
weakening its economy, and backing its domestic discontents. Pursuing
that strategy will take time, but eventually, it will put the United
States in a position to impose terms on Iran, including in the nuclear
realm. Washington should strive for a stringent arms control agreement,
not one that presages an Iranian bomb. It should compel Iran to cease
much of its regional subversion, not create power vacuums that encourage
it. And it should move human rights up the agenda, not look the other way
as Iran's leaders oppress their people. Some in Washington believe that
the Iran problem is of secondary importance to the United States compared
with violent jihadist groups such as ISIS. Not so. For all their
achievements in the chaotic lands of Syria and western Iraq, those
radical movements do not yet possess the resources and capabilities of a
large, sophisticated state. Iran does. Remember, the Iranian regime was
the original Islamic revolutionary state. Its successes inspired a wave
of radicals across the Middle East. At its most basic level, the
confrontation between the United States and Iran is a conflict between
the world's sole superpower and a second-rate autocracy. Washington does
not need to settle for a disastrously flawed arms control agreement and
hope that theocrats with no interest in relaxing their grip will somehow
become moderates. A determined policy of pressure would speed the day
when the Iranian people replace a regime that has made their lives
miserable. And in the interim, it would reduce the threat that a triumphant,
nuclear-armed regime would pose to the Middle East and the world
beyond." http://t.uani.com/1I93R7h
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear
Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive
media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with
discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please
email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com
United Against Nuclear
Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a
commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a
regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons. UANI is an
issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own
interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of
nuclear weapons.
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