 |
| Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (Wikipedia) |
Iran was taken over by a fanatic Mullah that had cultivated a wide following in Iran while he lived in exile in Paris. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini walked in to Iran as a conquering hero seen by his many followers there as the equivalent of a messiah. Promising them to create a nation ruled by strict Sharia (Islamic) law. And took charge of their military elite (the Revolutionary Guard).
Because Iran had been westernizing with the help of America during the Shah’s tenure they were well equipped to become a powerful force in the Middle East. America was the ‘Great Satan’. Israel was the ‘Little Satan’. Promising ever since to wipe Israel off the map.
Iran also benefitted in its capacity to create nuclear weapons. By taking them quickly into the 20th century they were advanced enough to enable them to do that. By the end of Obama’s 2nd term they seemed to be on the precipice of becoming a nuclear power. All while continuing to spread terror all over the region – largely for purposes of destroying Israel by supplying the means to do so to her neighboring enemies. Israel is therefore constantly being attacked by Hamas and Hezbollah by what seems like an endless supply of rockets supplied by Iran.
Because of its ‘outlaw’ status, Europe and the US had issued strong sanctions upon Iran that seriously crippled them financially. Realizing the dangers of a fanatic Islamic regime having the ‘bomb’ they quickly entered into negotiations with them. Iran was eager to get rid of those sanctions and get the billions of dollars back from American banks in which they had long ago been deposited. Which had been withheld because of their ‘outlaw’ status.
Enter Obama. In 2015 fearing the ‘bomb’ in the hands of a fanatic Islamic regime his foreign policy team was tasked with making a deal with Iran that would get them to stop enriching uranium in exchange for removing the sanctions.
What about their work on developing ballistic missiles capable of nuclear warheads, the continued spread of terror, and their oft repeated promise to wipe America’s most important ally in the Middle East off the map? They were more concerned about the ‘bomb’ and focused on that. Leaving those other issues for a later resolution. With the hope that they would see the light and abandon those plans by virtue of the benefits of behaving.
They succeeded in making a deal that delayed the ‘bomb’ for 10 years. For this Iran got the sanctions removed and got their billions of dollars released from US banks. Which they promptly used to finance all of their terrorist activities. The Obama administration however claimed that this was the best deal they could get. And that it made the world a safer place. For at least 10 years.
The hope that the deal would somehow get them to see the value of becoming a responsible member in the family of nations and thus abandon their terrorist policies and end its belligerent attitude towards Israel - never happened. They continued supplying Israel’s enemies with rockets, developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads that could reach the US; and according to some reports were secretly continuing research on the ‘bomb’.
The Trump administration quickly realized the folly of removing the sanctions and reinstated them… even increasing them. Meanwhile Europe stayed in the deal - upset at the US for leaving.
Iran started suffering again and eventually resumed enriching uranium.
That Europe stayed in the deal after that shows just how self serving they are. What about the ‘bomb’? What ‘bomb’?! Eurpoe cared more about the negative economic impact of returning to sanctions that forcd their industries to stop conducting trade with Iran. the resumption of uranum enricchemnt should have caused them to drop out of the deal. But they didn’t.
This is where we are now. even if we were still in the deal - we are about 5 years away from Iran getting the green light to develop nuclear weapons. They have not shown the slightest interst in becoming a responsible member of nations committed to peaceful relations wwith their neighbors. They continue to promise to wipe Israel off the map. eve as they struggle with an economy in ruins because of US sanctions. Which is why ty returned to the only leverage they have - threatening to become a nuclear power in very short order if they don't get their way
Biden has promised to return to the deal. The problem with that is that the situation on the ground is not the same as it was in 2015. 5 years have elapsed and the promise of a less belligerent Iran hasn't happened. Alliances between Israel and Gulf states that were never dreamed possible are now happening because of their shared threat from Iran. Returning to the deal that the US left would still leave then free to develop their ballistic missile capability and spread terror in the region.
The Islamic Regime is the same renegade regime it was back in 1979 when ot took over. It has not changed its goals one iota. The idea and hope by the US that it would realize the error of its ways was about as naive a belief as anyone could imagine. It would be a disaster of major proportion to go back to the deal as it was originally written.
When a nation’s leaders believe they are following the will of God - the idea that they might somehow be convinced to abandon their goals and become a more responsible member of the family of nations is a pipe dream. Iran believes God is on their side. And that His will includes destroying an entire nation with the ultimate goal of establishing Sharia law on the entire world. A world steeped in immorality will not tell them what to do.
Biden’s foreign policy team were members of Obama’s foreign policy team. They were instrumental in formulating the nuclear dealwith Iran. My hope is that they now understand that deal as originally constructed is no longer viable - and never really was.
Any deal Biden’s foreign policy team considers now should factor in these new realities and restructure it so that they are sufficiently addressed. Until then the current sanctions must stay in place. and even increased. Our European allies should be convinced to join us in that resolve. Iran - who is anxious to restore the deal must be told that they are not going to get the relief they want until they agree to a better deal. At which time we will remove all the sanctions - provided a far better inspections regime that the old one is established and executed.
Will Biden and his foreign policy team do that? I hope so. That would be great. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But I’m not holding my breath.