Iran Is Not Honoring The Deal, So Why Should We?

The Obama administration first argued that the Iran deal was a good deal and would have a beneficial impact on Iran’s behavior in the region. Then it fessed up that it might not be the best deal but the alternative was war. Then the argument became, well, “Iran is becoming more aggressive and heating up wars, but at least we have the Iran deal to stop its nuke program.” Now we don’t even have that.

As a preliminary matter, this should surprise no one. The administration signaled again and again that it would give up virtually any bargaining position to achieve a deal, and then as Iran’s lack of compliance during the interim agreement came to light, the administration made excuses on Iran’s behalf. In other words: The Obama team would do anything to get a deal and anything to keep it.

In that light, why would any adversary resist cheating? The agreement has become a farce. Nearly every criticism of the deal has come to fruition. Iran was allowed to “self-inspect.” The prospect of $150 billion in sanctions relief encouraged Iran to step up support for its ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Failing to use leverage when we had it to free Americans held against their will gave Iran a green light to “convict” Post reporter Jason Rezaian and to grab more Americans.

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“This is a sign of coming attractions. Iran will continue to play games throughout the implementation period and beyond, ” says sanctions expert Mark Dubowitz. “For now, the United States still holds leverage because most of the sanctions relief still remains to be given. But, once Iran pockets that relief, and snapback sanctions become increasingly impossible as the Europeans sink billions of dollars into Iran, we can expect the regime to return to its pattern of nuclear mendacity and gamesmanship.”

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