The Obama administration is poised to remove sanctions on Iran as soon as January, after the United Nations’s nuclear regulatory body—the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—released a report concluding the country had pursued a nuclear weapons program until 2009, but had not done so since then.
However, Rep. Mike Pompeo, (R-Kansas), has fired off a sternly worded letter to Ambassador Henry S. Ensher, the U.S.’s U.N. ambassador to the IAEA, accusing the agency of overlooking the Iranian regime’s demonstrable dishonesty about its nuclear weapons program.
“Allowing sanctions relief to proceed at this point would be a grave and historic error,” reads the letter. “Given the history of Iranian obstruction and obfuscation on this issue, the IAEA cannot reward bad behavior with its seal of approval.”
According to the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a.k.a the Iran Nuclear Deal, Iran was to disclose all “possible military dimensions” (PMD) of its nuclear weapons program. Pompeo notes that in July, no less than Secretary of State John Kerry said, “PMD has to be resolved—before [Iran] get[s] one ounce of sanctions relief.”
But the IAEA is reportedly poised to vote in favor of a resolution on December 15 that would lay the PMD issue to rest, in spite of mountains of evidence showing Iran has not been an honest broker. The IAEA’s own 2015 report confirms that Iran’s chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javid Zarif, lied when he said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought nuclear weapons nor will it seek them in the future.”
Further, the IAEA’s 2011 report identified 12 specific activities Iran has engaged in relevant to their nuclear weapons program. According to Pompeo, the IAEA’s 2015 report, now being held up as evidence exonerating Iran, reveals the agency has obtained no new information on four of these 12 key activities. Since 2011, the agency has gained no new information about Iran’s efforts to obtain “sensitive nuclear items,” “experimentation relevant to testing a nuclear explosion device,” as well as information about missile payloads and prototype firing systems for missiles that can carry nuclear warheads.
Pompeo also doesn’t mince words in addressing two other areas of concern:
The apparent willingness to sweep these and other problems under the rug presents three key problems, according to Pompeo. One, if Iran can get away with being dishonest while it is still under sanctions, what makes the IAEA think Iran will be transparent and cooperative once the sanctions are lifted? Two, it sets a dangerous precedent for nuclear proliferation because other countries will follow Iran’s lead in thumbing its nose at the IAEA. Lastly, an incomplete understanding of what’s happened in the past with Iran’s nuclear weapons program and the country’s current capabilities will make it harder to determine when and how Iran pursues nuclear weapons in the future.
Pompeo’s letter urges the IAEA to reject any resolution on December 15 that will clear the way for lifting sanctions on Iran. Withholding sanctions relief is something that should be consistent with the Obama administration’s stated goals. “We’re in the post-JCPOA world. This administration is intent on going down the path. And, so, among my missions is to do what the president said, right?,” Pompeo told THE WEEKLY STANDARD. “President said we’re not going to trust; we’re going to verify. So, I don’t trust them either; we’re going to verify. Let’s go do this. So, fine, fair enough. And so, we’re working really hard to help [President Obama] verify. And, one of the very first things to be verified is the history of the Iranian weapons, militarization of their weapons program.”
But if recent reports are to be believed, it appears that the Obama administration isn’t interested in making even the most cursory attempts to verify Iranian compliance, let alone punishing Iran for openly flouting the terms of the nuclear deal.
