“There you go again,” as former President Ronald Reagan jibed then President Jimmy Carter during their second presidential debate in 1980. And, again, the Biden administration is nearly maniacal about getting a nuclear arms agreement with Iran, no matter the actual security cost. The Biden foreign policy crowd is once again testing the waters attempting to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal that former President Donald Trump pulled out of, and rightly so. True to form, the White House is pushing some version of the flawed Obama-era 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). If Iran is close to having a nuclear weapon, the JCPOA or some variation won’t stop Tehran’s enrichment goals. Nonetheless, Biden nuclear negotiators are trying to construct a new deal. According to recent reports, they have briefed their proposal to Western allies Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the one country with the largest stake in the region, Israel. The US proposal would remove some American economic sanctions if Tehran limited its enrichment program to 60% purity.
However, not all those who were privy to the proposal were enthusiastic. As Foreign Desk News explained,
“The proposal has been met with mixed reactions from the international community. Israel has strongly opposed the proposal, stating that it will only embolden Iran and lead to further destabilization in the region. Saudi Arabia has also expressed reservations about the proposal, citing concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.”
One concern could be that Iran has already exceeded the 60% level of weapons-grade uranium. Experts in nuclear weapons technology consider 90% levels of Uranium-235 (U-235) refinement as weapons-grade. According to the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in February 2023, the IAEA took routine environmental samples from the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant at Fordow, Iran. The sampling and subsequent “analytical results of which showed the presence of high enriched uranium particles containing up to 83.7% U-235,” the IAEA report stated. So, the Biden administration’s proposal to hold Iran’s U-235 enrichment to 60% is most likely a train that has left the station.
Yet, the White House seems adamant about getting an agreement with Tehran’s government. But desperation is not a good look when sitting at the negotiating table. Apparently, the US negotiators are of a mind not to do anything to upset the Iranian mullahs and have gone to significant lengths to make nice. “Also in February, it was revealed that Biden administration diplomats were pressuring the UK not to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, concerned that that would further hamper talks with Iran,” Jeff Zymeri wrote in the National Review. Why would the Biden administration pressure the UK not to call the number one global merchant of terrorism, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a terrorist organization? If you identify the IRGC as a terrorist organization, that gives credence to economic sanctions and puts pressure on Iran, where it should be.
Vladimir Putin (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
The US taking the road to a nuclear agreement with Iran at all costs has some additional potholes ahead. Following the February IAEA revelation “that Iran accumulated near weapons-grade uranium for its alleged nuclear weapons program, Fox News Digital has learned that Iran has allegedly secured secret deals with Russia to guarantee deliveries of uranium,” Fox reporter Benjamin Weinthal explained. Russian President Putin may have cut a uranium for explosive drones deal, since Iran has supplied Moscow with weapons used in the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine. As Liberty Nation reported, the Kremlin has quite the thriving boutique atomic bomb materials business with China as one of its customers.
“The new approach by the Biden administration shows just how concerned the US is about recent advances in Iran’s nuclear program,” Barak Ravid reported for Axios from Israel. Biden and his national security team may be worried about Iran getting a nuclear weapon. But offering concessions in hopes the Iranians will behave on the playground is not the most effective approach. Tehran shows it has the upper hand, and the Americans are grasping at straws. The US should apply more stringent economic pressure and keep it there until the Iranians show good faith. Iran, with a nuclear weapon capability, would represent a danger to the entire world and needs to be stopped. Unfortunately, the Biden administration doesn’t appear able to do that.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliation.