On Tuesday, a tweet from the Iranian leader, President Hassan Rouhani, reads: “Our relationship w/the world is based on Iranian nation’s interests. In #Geneva agreement world powers surrendered to Iranian nation’s will.” The Iranian president boasted that the United States and other world powers effectively “surrendered” to Tehran with the newly struck nuclear deal.
Many, including White House Press Secretary Jay Carney in a Thursday press briefing, wish to claim that this tweet was for Iranian internal domestic consumption for political purposes within Iran. This would lead to a question: Why was the tweet in the English language? The brash statement from Rouhani, which is sure to rile those in Congress pressing for addition sanctions, comes just days after all sides of the negotiations announced the details for implementing the six-month deal.
Rouhani’s statement can only fuel concern in Congress that Iran feels less pressure now to both comply with the deal and pursue a comprehensive agreement. Dozens of U.S. senators are pushing for a new bill that would trigger additional sanctions if Iran fails to meet its obligations, but Obama and the rest of his team are vigorously fighting the legislation concerned that it could derail the nuclear talks.
“I very much appreciate Congress’ critical role in imposing the sanctions that brought Iran to the table, but I feel just as strongly that now is not the time to impose additional sanctions that could threaten the entire negotiating process,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a written statement. “Now is not the time for politics. Now is the time for statesmanship, for the good of our country, the region, and the world.”
Meanwhile, Republicans are raising concerns about the Obama administration’s apparent decision to keep the text of the new Iran nuclear agreement under wraps. “The Iran deal shouldn’t be secret from the American people,” Senator Mark Kirk, R-Ill., told Fox News. “If the White House is proud of the deal, it should be able to withstand public scrutiny in its entirety.” The White House did, on Thursday, release a public “summary” of the interim nuclear deal but it has come to light that the actual text was delivered to Congress with major caveats. Aides report the administration is keeping the document in a secret facility inside the Capitol where sensitive documents are stored. Only lawmakers and staffers with security clearances can go look at it and they cannot bring copies outside the room, though the document in question is “unclassified.”
This, obviously, fuels lawmakers’ suspicions which are already high as Iran boasts about its supposed gains in nuclear talks. The document in question pertains to the implementation of a six-month deal that will rein in parts of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for what the administration describes as “modest” sanctions relief.
When asked about the document at Thursday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney explained it was the “preference” of the International Atomic Energy Agency that “certain technical aspects” remain confidential. “These types of documents are not always made public,” Carney noted. But he also said the Administration is committed to releasing “as much information in the text as possible.”
The summary which was released Thursday, included dozens of bullet points on what each side has committed to do. It said Iran would halt production of near-20 percent enriched uranium; not construct any more enrichment facilities; and not fuel its Arak reactor, among other steps. It also laid out the timetable for freeing up $4.2 billion in restricted Iranian funds, starting with a $550 million installment on February 1st. “Iran will not have access to the final installment of the $4.2 billion until the last day of the six-month period,” the summary said.
The Obama administration continues to battle with senators who are pushing for legislation that would trigger sanctions if Iran runs afoul of the agreement, arguing that the bill has the potential to scuttle the diplomatic progress they’ve made. A rather pointless argument since all Iran has to do, is to do what they say in the agreement. If their intent is as they state, the bill would never go into effect so there is no reason or cause for concern on either side.
There are certain historically bad decisions made throughout history. Neville Chamberlain declaring peace in our time after meeting with Hitler in Munich is one. Granting Iran sanctions relief without firm concessions to dismantle its nuclear program is another. What the West forgets and why this is such a bad deal is that we are conditioning an agreement on the “hope” of compliance from a nation who’s leaders answer to the word of God as interpreted by the supreme leader. At best that seems whimsical. At worst its very naive. Any agreement needs to call for concrete demonstrations of compliance, otherwise you can never ensure real change. Iran has never demonstrated it can follow through on agreements and unless it does so now, agreeing to lift sanctions on a promise is absurd.