The nuclear agreement with Iran is being touted by the Obama administration as a significant step in keeping Iran from moving towards nuclear weapons.
In reality, the agreement is confirmation of Iran’s uranium enrichment program at a relatively high level, although some of the highest level enrichment is supposed to be suspended. The fact is that in return for a weakening of sanctions that were putting great pressure on Iran, the centrifuges keep spinning, the facilities are maintained, and at best the length of time for an Iranian nuclear “breakout” has been lengthened for a short period.
Eli Lake at The Daily Beast notes the significance:
Under the interim agreement Iran will be allowed to enrich uranium at low levels. Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif said the deal recognized his country’s nuclear program. This is a major victory for Iran whose leaders have insisted for nearly a decade that it has the right to enrich uranium under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Officially, the Obama administration has not recognized that any country has this right under the treaty. It has argued that Iran has to adhere to the terms of prior U.N. Security Council resolutions that prohibit Iran from enrichment.
It is smoke and mirrors, allowing the Obama administration to declare diplomatic victory, change the subject, and create the straw man argument that anyone opposed to the agreement wants war.
The agreement also assists the Mullahs in the continuation of their rule, as it eases economic pressures. The assurance of Mullah rule always has been a part of the Obama negotiating strategy dating back to the abandonment of the freedom protests in 2009.
The Iranians are touting the agreement as recognition of Iran’s right to enrich uranium and a great victory over Israel:
On the great Iranian victory Benjamin Netanyahu agrees with the Iranian assessment. Neither the Iranians nor the Israelis are drinking the Obama administration’s Kool-Aid
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu read the following statement at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting:
“What was achieved last night in Geneva is not an historic agreement; it is an historic mistake. Today the world has become a much more dangerous place because the most dangerous regime in the world has taken a significant step toward attaining the most dangerous weapon in the world. For the first time, the world’s leading powers have agreed to uranium enrichment in Iran while ignoring the UN Security Council decisions that they themselves led. Sanctions that required many years to put in place contain the best chance for a peaceful solution. These sanctions have been given up in exchange for cosmetic Iranian concessions that can be cancelled in weeks. This agreement and what it means endanger many countries including, of course, Israel. Israel is not bound by this agreement. The Iranian regime is committed to the destruction of Israel and Israel has the right and the obligation to defend itself, by itself, against any threat. As Prime Minister of Israel, I would like to make it clear: Israel will not allow Iran to develop a military nuclear capability.”
(Featured image source: Iranian Press TV)
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