USA TODAY – The race to halt a nuclear ambitious Iran is eerily reminiscent of America’s sprint more than two decades ago to halt North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons, and Iran constitutes an even greater threat to the world.
Since then, the international community has watched North Korea continue its weapons testing as its economy stagnates in isolation. North Korea is emboldened and more defiant, and the world is no safer from North Korean aggression than it was decades ago.
To think of Iran any differently is foolish.
Where North Korea is constrained, Iran fills the same void through growing capability, regional influence and alliances.
The deal reached by the Obama administration will need to be thoroughly examined to understand its full scope, but the preliminary details are cause for alarm. Bottom line: The deal provides no real assurance that Iran will stop pursuing nuclear weapons.
Iran’s centrifuges will still spin by the thousands, while its belief that enrichment is an inalienable right has gone undeterred. A deal that involved Iran’s centrifuges would have surely instilled more confidence, not just by observers in the U.S., but elsewhere, including Israel.
Without centrifuges at the center of the deal, there is little real reason to celebrate what could be a toothless agreement built on false hope that Iran is serious and has divorced itself from its recent past.
It is because of Iran that improvised explosive devices were such a threat during the Iraq War. Iran’s involvement in Afghanistan is no less a problem. Meanwhile, in Syria, Iran is supporting the Assad regime against rebel forces. Funding and material support from Iran to terrorist organizations also continues.
These actions underscore why any deal with Iran must be met with caution and skepticism. There is also concern with the Obama administration’s ability to effectively implement and enforce any parameters of the deal. High-profile failures on the domestic and international fronts have shaken the confidence of millions of Americans.
With the agreement in place, much will depend on what transpires in the coming months. Iran is still untrustworthy, and the U.S. should proceed over the next six months with the expectation that Iran has every intention of developing nuclear weapons.
Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Calif., who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is a member of the House Armed Services Committee.