Wrong, Iran: Trump Can Absolutely Overturn Obama’s Iranian Nuke Deal
By James Phillips | November 10, 2016 | 2:54 PM EST
In this Jan. 16, 2016 file-pool photo, Secretary of State John Kerry talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Vienna, after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal. The Iran nuclear accord is fragile at its one-year anniversary. Upcoming elections in the U.S. and Iran could yield new leaders determined to derail the deal. The Mideast¿s wars pit U.S. and Iranian proxies in conflict, with risks of escalation. Iran's ballistic missiles are threatening American allies in the Arab world and Israel, raising pressure on the United States to respond with force. (AP File Photo/Kevin Lamarque)
Donald Trump’s election as president has discomforted many foreign leaders, especially in Iran.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claimed Wednesday that there is “no possibility” for the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran to be overturned by Trump, despite Trump’s threat to do so.
This is an outright lie. President Barack Obama purposely structured the deal as an executive agreement to make an end-run around Congress, which he knew would oppose the flawed and risky deal.
After his inauguration, Trump would have the authority to revoke the executive agreement. Trump has called the deal “disastrous” and said his “No. 1 priority” would be to dismantle it.
Iran’s state television channel reported that Rouhani told his Cabinet that Tehran’s “understanding in the nuclear deal was that the accord was not concluded with one country or government but was approved by a resolution of the U.N. Security Council and there is no possibility that it can be changed by a single government.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif chimed in to urge Trump to accept the agreement: “Every U.S. president has to understand the realities of today’s world. The most important thing is that the future U.S. president stick to agreements, to engagements undertaken.”
That is laughable advice, coming from the hypocritical leaders of a country that regularly violates international law by sponsoring terrorism, taking hostages, harassing shipping in international waters—not to mention violating U.N. Security Council resolutions by exporting arms to Palestinian terrorist groups, Hezbollah terrorists, Syrian militias, and Yemeni rebels.
Iran has also been caught trying to covertly buy illicit dual-use nuclear technology in Germany. This violates its commitments under the nuclear agreement to obtain international approval for all nuclear purchases
The new administration could use these or other violations as a justification for doing away with the nuclear deal.
Trump has promised to enforce the nuclear deal so strictly that it will be patently clear that Iran is responsible for the deal’s demise. During the presidential campaign he said :
“You know, I’ve taken over some bad contracts. I buy contracts where people screwed up and they have bad contracts. But I’m really good at looking at a contract and finding things within a contract that, even if they’re bad, I would police that contract so tough that they don’t have a chance. As bad as the contract is, I will be so tough on that contract.”
Iran’s dictators have had an easy time out-negotiating and out-maneuvering the Obama administration, which eagerly sought to clinch a deal. The administration made huge concessions that allowed Iran to dismantle international sanctions without dismantling key elements of its nuclear program, which continues to advance.
It looks like the Trump administration will take a much harder line on the Iran nuclear issue, which will be one of the earliest foreign policy issues it must address.
James Phillips is the senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. He has written extensively on Middle Eastern issues and international terrorism since 1978.
Editor's Note : This piece was originally published by The Daily Signal .
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Trump knows quite a lot about contracts unlike Obama . That's the difference between studying law from a theoretical perspective like Obama and working with contracts in a business setting like Trump ...
It didn't take a businessman to know that the nuclear deal was a hoax and a huge mistake.
In fact, for the purpose of preventing Iran from developing the bomb and a means to deliver it, it's about as useful as the UN is.
It didn't take a businessman to know that the nuclear deal was a hoax and a huge mistake.
It fer sure did take a community organizer who was looking to score a notch on his international deals belt to ignore any warning signs ...
Going to an extreme to justify his Nobel Peace Prize. FAIL!!!!
I don't know if that was his motivation . Maybe he just wanted to leave with something he can say he accomplished while serving as pres.
This issue is one that can be a test of Trump's campaign chatter . I , for one am interested in following this as it progresses ...
Iran never had any intention of complying with Obama’s deal:
And if Iran can walk away from the deal, why can’t the USA?