Max Boot, writing for Commentary:
Skeptics about the looming nuclear accord with Iran may be taking comfort from the promises of Republican presidential candidates to tear up the treaty as soon as they reach the Oval Office. They shouldn’t be. Even assuming a Republican wins the White House next year (hardly a certainty), pulling out of the agreement won’t necessarily fix its defects. In fact it could make the situation even worse.
Iran, as its leaders have made clear, is expecting an immediate payoff from signing the accords—a payoff that President Obama has vowed to deliver. If leaks are accurate, Obama is offering Iran a $50 billion “signing bonus” by offering to unfreeze a large portion of the Iranian oil funds held overseas. And that’s just for starters. The Iranians clearly expect that within weeks—or at most months—they will reap even more substantial sanctions relief from the U.S., the UN, the EU, and other relevant actors. And they’re probably right. While Obama cannot formally repeal all U.S. sanctions without legislative action, he can suspend most of them, and our allies will eagerly follow suit.
Obama assures us that if Iran is caught cheating the sanctions will “snap back” but it’s impossible to imagine this president ever admitting that his signature achievement—a nuclear accord with Iran—has unraveled. So in practice there is no chance of any sanctions being reapplied before January 20, 2017.
Iran, as its leaders have made clear, is expecting an immediate payoff from signing the accords—a payoff that President Obama has vowed to deliver. If leaks are accurate, Obama is offering Iran a $50 billion “signing bonus” by offering to unfreeze a large portion of the Iranian oil funds held overseas. And that’s just for starters. The Iranians clearly expect that within weeks—or at most months—they will reap even more substantial sanctions relief from the U.S., the UN, the EU, and other relevant actors. And they’re probably right. While Obama cannot formally repeal all U.S. sanctions without legislative action, he can suspend most of them, and our allies will eagerly follow suit.
Obama assures us that if Iran is caught cheating the sanctions will “snap back” but it’s impossible to imagine this president ever admitting that his signature achievement—a nuclear accord with Iran—has unraveled. So in practice there is no chance of any sanctions being reapplied before January 20, 2017.
Whole thing here.
