Don’t buy the spin: The Iran deal was never really about nuclear weapons

The Iran deal was never about stopping Iran from developing a nuclear weapons program. That notion was merely the echo-chamber spin to convince the American people to get behind a truly radical agreement designed by leftist ideologues that served to fundamentally transform the U.S. alliance structure and provide a geopolitical boost to the Iranian regime.

If the Iran deal were designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, the mullahs’ chief adversaries would have joined the Obama administration in supporting the accord. From day one, they perceived the deal as an existential threat to their nations. Just about the entirety of the Middle East — from Saudi Arabia to the UAE to Bahrain to Israel — lobbied against the deal, warning that it would unleash Iran and allow the regime to spread terror, chaos, and destruction throughout the world.

Many in the upper echelons of the Obama administration refused to recognize the difference between allies and adversaries, or between the good guys and bad guys. Others in the Wilsonian camp believed that giving away massive concessions to the regime would curry the favor necessary for the mullahs to become less hostile to the U.S. But the deal as constructed would never have prevented Iran from getting to the bomb. The Iran deal was just one way in which Obama’s incompetent “lead from behind” strategy cataclysmically failed to protect American security interests.

In backing the deal, some have pointed out that Europeans allies — particularly France and Germany — are highly supportive of the Iran deal. European powers claim that their investment in the Iran deal is an investment in global security. Yet the deal would not have stopped Iran from being able to develop a nuke; instead, it virtually guaranteed it, thanks to the deal’s sunset provision, which is set to expire in less than seven years.

The Europeans have calculated that the deal, which served the purpose of rolling back U.S. sanctions and empowering the Iranian regime to access the international banking system, can provide them with an economic windfall. Paris and Berlin have already agreed to massive, multi-billion-dollar business deals with the regime in Tehran. Should the accord collapse, so too would these agreements.

The deal was designed to serve as a fundamental realignment of American regional interests. The Obama administration’s reckless rebalancing effort sought to tip the scales toward Iran, away from our traditional Middle East allies. In the middle of negotiations over the JCPOA, administration figures made grandiose promises about reform in Tehran, none of which came true. They said the deal would reform the fundamental nature of the regime, yet there are no signs of reform from within Iran. Friday prayers still end with chants of “Death to America.” The ayatollah who rules the country still calls for the destruction of the United States and Israel. We were told that the billions of dollars in cash offloaded to the mullahs would only be used for domestic expenditures. Instead, the Iranian people are struggling with a currency crisis, while the Iranian regime has quadrupled annual aid to its chief terrorist proxy, Hezbollah.

Since the deal’s passage, Iran has continued to spread its terror campaign far and wide, from Asia to America’s doorstep in Latin America.

If the deal was truly meant to thwart Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, President Trump would not have brought down the hammer Tuesday on Barack Obama’s signature foreign policy endeavor. The Iran deal empowered the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, and for that reason alone, it is setting out on its rightful way to the dustbin of history.

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