The Obama administration never thought a nuclear deal with Iran would resolve all of the West’s concerns with Tehran’s aggressive behavior, White House spokesman Josh Earnest reiterated on Tuesday.
Testing ballistic missiles, “menacing” Israel, financing terrorist groups, threatening to close off key entry points to the Middle East, “are all things they were doing before the deal,” Earnest said in response to questions about Iran’s latest provocations.
“We have been quite clear that the goal” in reaching an agreement with Iran to curb its nuclear weapons program was to “prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb,” Earnest said. “President Obama made a strategic calculation” that the biggest threat Iran posed was its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon, Earnest said.
The terms that Iran agreed to with six world powers for limited sanctions relief “has not resolved all our concerns with Iran,” Earnest conceded, underscoring that it was never intended to.
But Tehran is “a whole lot less dangerous when there’s no risk of them putting a nuclear weapon at the top of one of those missiles,” Earnest said about the latest reports that Iran has tested a long-range missile.
Earnest said that the rest of the world, led by the U.S., is working to punish Iran and keep it in check for other provocations through avenues outside the nuclear deal. Earnest noted new United Nations resolutions aimed at reigning in its missile program and new American sanctions against individuals and companies aiding that program are all intended to bring Iran to heel.
“Our efforts here have been comprehensive; and the results have been that the United States, our allies and our partners are safer,” Earnest said.
