Editorial Desk :
US President Donald Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement in defiance of other world powers, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal and warning he might ultimately terminate it. Trump announced the major shift in US policy in a speech in which he detailed a more aggressive approach to Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its support for extremist groups in the Middle East.
He accused Iran of “not living up to the spirit” of the nuclear agreement and said his goal is to ensure Tehran never obtains a nuclear weapon. Trump’s hardline remarks drew praise from Israel and Saudi Arabia, Iran’s arch-foes, but were criticized by European allies. The move by Trump was part of his “America First” approach to international agreements which has led him to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks.
His Iran strategy angered Tehran and put Washington at odds with other signatories of the accord such as Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union, some of which have benefited economically on renewed trade with Iran. Responding to Trump, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on live television that Tehran was committed to the deal and accused Trump of making baseless accusations.
While Trump did not pull the United States out of the agreement, aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, he gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the pact. If Congress reimposes the sanctions, the United States would in effect be in violation of the terms of the nuclear deal and it would likely fall apart. If lawmakers do nothing, the deal remains in place. Congress is more likely to take up legislation proposed by two Republican Senators that would set new restrictions on Iran, including reimposing US nuclear sanctions if Tehran were deemed to be within one year of developing a nuclear weapon.
But why does Trump want to cancel the deal in the first place? The real reason can be traced to what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of Mr Trump, said last month that unless provisions in the accord removing restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program over-time are eliminated, it should be cancelled. Since Israel is a close ally of the US, it can exert disproportionate power on US policy makers like the President and Congress through Super Political Action Committees like AIPAC, the Jewish American lobby group which exerts tremendous power in the US to achieve its goals.
Essentially Israel wishes to remain the only bully in the Middle East–by not allowing Tehran to pursue nuclear weapons it remains the dominant superpower in the region. Even Saudi Arabia doesn’t want Tehran to pursue nuclear weapons as it feels that it is protected by the US. Thus allowing Tehran nuclear weapons would imbalance the current hegemony in the Middle East. As long as Israel has nuclear weapons it could attack Iran without any compunction as Iran knows that Israel has nuclear weapons–as it has done in the past when it attacked and destroyed the Osirak reactor in Iraq in 1981.
So the real question seems to be whether we can allow Israel to continue on its path with impunity or allow Iran to forge ahead with its own path of development ? Reneging on this deal may very well take Iran down the hard path — as then its hardliners will say that they had no other options left. So decertifying the deal may have the opposite effect and nudge Iran down the dark path. President Trump should learn ‘nudge theory’ and apply the principles to Iran — which essentially are that that people can be nudged to do something if the nudging occurs in a soft fashion.
US President Donald Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement in defiance of other world powers, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal and warning he might ultimately terminate it. Trump announced the major shift in US policy in a speech in which he detailed a more aggressive approach to Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its support for extremist groups in the Middle East.
He accused Iran of “not living up to the spirit” of the nuclear agreement and said his goal is to ensure Tehran never obtains a nuclear weapon. Trump’s hardline remarks drew praise from Israel and Saudi Arabia, Iran’s arch-foes, but were criticized by European allies. The move by Trump was part of his “America First” approach to international agreements which has led him to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks.
His Iran strategy angered Tehran and put Washington at odds with other signatories of the accord such as Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union, some of which have benefited economically on renewed trade with Iran. Responding to Trump, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on live television that Tehran was committed to the deal and accused Trump of making baseless accusations.
While Trump did not pull the United States out of the agreement, aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, he gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the pact. If Congress reimposes the sanctions, the United States would in effect be in violation of the terms of the nuclear deal and it would likely fall apart. If lawmakers do nothing, the deal remains in place. Congress is more likely to take up legislation proposed by two Republican Senators that would set new restrictions on Iran, including reimposing US nuclear sanctions if Tehran were deemed to be within one year of developing a nuclear weapon.
But why does Trump want to cancel the deal in the first place? The real reason can be traced to what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of Mr Trump, said last month that unless provisions in the accord removing restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program over-time are eliminated, it should be cancelled. Since Israel is a close ally of the US, it can exert disproportionate power on US policy makers like the President and Congress through Super Political Action Committees like AIPAC, the Jewish American lobby group which exerts tremendous power in the US to achieve its goals.
Essentially Israel wishes to remain the only bully in the Middle East–by not allowing Tehran to pursue nuclear weapons it remains the dominant superpower in the region. Even Saudi Arabia doesn’t want Tehran to pursue nuclear weapons as it feels that it is protected by the US. Thus allowing Tehran nuclear weapons would imbalance the current hegemony in the Middle East. As long as Israel has nuclear weapons it could attack Iran without any compunction as Iran knows that Israel has nuclear weapons–as it has done in the past when it attacked and destroyed the Osirak reactor in Iraq in 1981.
So the real question seems to be whether we can allow Israel to continue on its path with impunity or allow Iran to forge ahead with its own path of development ? Reneging on this deal may very well take Iran down the hard path — as then its hardliners will say that they had no other options left. So decertifying the deal may have the opposite effect and nudge Iran down the dark path. President Trump should learn ‘nudge theory’ and apply the principles to Iran — which essentially are that that people can be nudged to do something if the nudging occurs in a soft fashion.
