Will the United States Coddle Iran? What You Need to Know

By 

Wesley Smith

|
March 21, 2022

4 min read

National Security

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While the war in Ukraine rages on, there are other ongoing world events that raise additional alarms, happenings that directly impact the safety and security of the United States—and the entire world.  Certainly, the prospect of China invading Taiwan is one of those looming crises.

However, the continued negotiations between the Biden Administration and Iran over the Iran nuclear deal (the JCPOA) top the list of geopolitical phenomena whose repercussions are as frightening as they are unknown.  President Biden appears to be singularly focused on reentering the Iranian agreement—at any cost.  Whether it is desperation for a political legacy win or over-zealousness combined with a generous dose of naiveté—neither leads to a good outcome when one is negotiating with an adversary.  Apparently, President Biden really, really wants this deal.  And the Iranian leaders really, really know it.  And they will take advantage of this.

Here is what you need to know.

  • As crazy as it sounds, the U.S. is using the Russians as a lead negotiator and intermediary in our talks with Iran.  The country that has invaded a neighbor and put the world on edge, that is killing innocent civilians including children, is our designated representative as we discuss a deal with the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. Iran refuses to sit down directly with U.S. representatives.  So, out of all 192 nations in the world—we choose the one raining terror on innocent people in Ukraine to talk on our behalf with the premier terrorist nation—and we actually expect a good outcome in these talks?  It seems the Biden Administration believes that.
  • The lead Russian negotiator, Mikhail Ulyanov, recently boasted that the U.S. had granted more concessions to Iran than either Russia or Iran had imagined possible.  He stated that they are getting from the U.S. even more than they asked for.
  • The negotiations have stumbled slightly.  Why?  Russia wants a written guarantee from the United States that Western sanctions targeting Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine will not affect Russia’s trade with Iran.  In what can only be termed ironic negotiation insanity, the U.S. is placing sanctions on Russia but considering lifting sanctions on Iran.
  • In a recent mindboggling development in the talks in Vienna, the Biden Administration is considering taking the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) off the list of terror groups—at Iran’s request.  This is a paramilitary organization that has the blood of thousands on their hands—including American troops.  Under President Trump’s leadership, the IRGC was designated a terror group.  They oversee the exportation of Iranian terror around the world, including weapons and training to Hamas and Hezbollah which have vowed to destroy Israel.  The U.S. killed the IRGC leader, Qasem Soleimani, after he ordered attacks on U.S. service members in the Middle East.  It is the height of unhealthy denial to pretend that the IRGC is not a terrorist organization.
  • Iran wants all sanctions lifted.  This would funnel billions of dollars to the Iranian regime, as they lie about their nuclear research and development and continue to pursue a nuclear weapon.  A raid by Israel’s Mossad in 2018 revealed that Iran has a robust project seeking to develop a nuclear bomb all the while they were assuring the world they had given up that goal.
  • In the developing new agreement, all Iranian military bases would still be exempt from inspection by international experts appointed by the U.N. and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).  A military facility would be one of the most probable places for Iran to continue their nuclear plans.  No inspections of any kind have taken place in several years.  The IAEA did reveal that, in violation of the JCPOA, Iran had enriched uranium to a 60% level.  A level of 90% is needed for a nuclear explosive device.  The original JCPOA limited Iran’s enrichment to 3.67%.  Anything above 20% is considered Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU).

The world is at times a dangerous place.  Coddling Iran will make it more dangerous. The Biden Administration must honor the oath to protect the United States from all enemies—foreign and domestic.  We must not lift sanctions on Iran and become complicit in its human rights abuses and terrorist activities.  At this juncture, our negotiations with Iran are not only naïve—they are dangerously naïve.