Comic by Priyanka Pai

Comic by Priyanka Pai

The suspension of nuclear-related economic sanctions on Iran is a dangerous attempt by the White House to make peace with a Middle Eastern country that has continually supported terrorist organizations around the world. This deal is a poorly made short-term solution to a long-term problem.

This deal will make it possible for Iran to develop nuclear weapons as soon as the United States turns a blind eye. Iran’s estimated breakout time would be about one year if it complies with all of the restrictions in the deal, paving the way for their development of weapons of mass destruction. The deal is also set to expire after a decade, giving Iran the ability to freely produce unrestricted weapons after ten years. In the April 7 issue of the Wheel, Ben Perlmutter called the deal the “least-worst option.” This speaks to its framework’s desperate caliber. No deal is better than a bad deal.

Let us also not forget the nuclear agreement signed in Brussels in February 2004, where Iran pledged to suspend uranium enrichment. Shortly thereafter, in 2005 it was announced that Iran would resume its enrichment activities. In addition, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad countered the 2006 proposal made by the six western powers (United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany), declaring that Tehran will not abandon its rights to nuclear technology under Western pressure. With this history, how can we trust that Iran will not resume its nuclear enrichment through clandestine facilities as they did after the deal in 2004 and again in 2006? The Iranian leadership clearly cannot be trusted, and the White House should view the Islamic Republic as more of an untrustworthy government, incapable of keeping its promises.

In making this deal, the United States is completely ignoring the plea of our most reliable and loyal ally: Israel. Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said the deal was a “historic mistake,” giving power to one of our ally’s most powerful enemies. How are we to allow Iran, who fails to recognize Israel’s right to exist, to develop nuclear weapons, while it continues to support terrorist groups that call for the state of Israel to be wiped off the map? Iran’s support to the Assad regime in Syria, Shiite militias in Iraq, Hezbollah and Hamas shouldn’t make Iran a target for alliance, or as Perlmutter suggests a “frenemy.” I agree with Perlmutter that these groups give Iran power, but is it the sort of power that we could see ourselves working with to facilitate peace?

If the current pro-deal mentality argues that this is the only step the United States can take to curtail weapons development and avoid war, then how can ultimately freeing Iran of economic sanctions be a solution? In the short-term, the current deal on the table will curtail Iran’s development of nuclear weapons (if they even abide by the agreement). However, in the long-term, we are giving Iran sanctions relief at the price of what Aaron Miller of Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars describes as, “the capacity and know-how to build on an industrial grade nuclear infrastructure in the out years.”

While current sanctions have only slowed Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, our current arrangements are far more conducive to our goals than allowing them the freedom to control their own nuclear program in the coming years. Washington and Tehran should have nothing to agree upon until Iran ceases its relationships with terrorist organizations.

The only good deal that I see is Iran halting all uranium enrichment for the time being. Both parties must reach a legitimate, peaceful and achievable deal. The United States should continue its policy encouraged by Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s minister of intelligence and strategic affairs, of “increas[ing] pressure on Iran and stand[ing] firm and mak[ing] Iran make serious concessions and have a much better deal.”

Iran’s nuclear program could in no way incite any peaceful action. The White House must block all of Iran’s attempts at creating a nuclear bomb and must continue their sanctions against the government until their entire offensive nuclear program is discontinued. While a theoretical deal with Iran seems to be the more rational, diplomatic action, the outcome of the deal will only serve to further fraction the Middle East. In dealing with a historically distrustful regime, it is best for the White House to avoid a bad deal and formulate one more conducive to peace that does not allow Iran the capability of developing nuclear weapons in the present or the future.

Adam Mackie is a College Junior from Potomac, Maryland. 

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