nuclear-news

The whole idea makes no sense to anyone but Mr. Trump’s hard-line advisers, who see Iran as the root of evil in the Persian Gulf. Instead of making sure the agreement works, the president would give Iran an excuse to revive what had been a rapidly advancing nuclear capability and confront the world with another intractable nuclear challenge in addition to North Korea.

The deal, negotiated with Tehran by the United States and other major powers, imposed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities for 10 years in return for a lifting of international and American sanctions. As an added check, Congress requires the administration to certify every 90 days that Iran is abiding by the deal, in order to continue qualifying for relief from American sanctions.

The administration has twice reluctantly certified Iran’s compliance and is required to revisit the issue again next month.

…..While Iran indeed is engaging in some very worrisome pursuits, the deal is confined to the nuclear program. As long as Tehran is staying within those limits, Mr. Trump has no reason not to certify compliance. The United States and its partners need to find other ways, including sanctions already in place and dialogue, to mitigate Iran’s other behavior. In the national interest, Washington has often held its nose and dealt with aggressive or unsavory governments, among them the Soviet Union, Russia, Pakistan and Egypt. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/opinion/trump-iran-nuclear-deal.html