A nuclear-armed regime in Iran would be a global threat, and the framework presented by the Obama administration for an international accord “gives little confidence that the agreement under consideration is the right solution,” US Senator John Boozman has warned.
“In fact, every news leak confirms fears that we are headed in the wrong direction. In the years since the P5+1 negotiations began, the goalposts have moved from dismantling Iran’s clandestine nuclear-weapons program to containing it,” Boozman, a Republican Senator, wrote on Monday in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “That’s not what the President told us these talks were going to accomplish. That’s not what six UN resolutions intended to prevent. And that is certainly not a position from which we can declare the Iranian nuclear threat has been eliminated.”
“It seems that not a day goes by where we don’t learn of another Obama administration concession to Iran.”
“For example, Associated Press headlines report that the news agency obtained a leaked document that suggests the U.S. and other world powers would actually help perfect Iran’s nuclear program rather than dismantle it. Referred to as the ‘Civil Nuclear Cooperation,’ this provision would greenlight a range of nuclear technology such as ‘high-tech reactors and other state-of-the-art equipment’ that some members of the P5+1 would be required to provide to Iran.”
“Furthermore, President Barack Obama now is backtracking from our requirement that Iran reveal any possible military dimensions (PMD) of its nuclear program–past, current or future.”
“This comes on the heels of the major concessions already granted to the Iranian regime that were once thought to be unacceptable.”
“The president already caved to allowing the Iranians to maintain the capacity to continue enrichment activities at Fordow. This is no ordinary site. It is a fortified, underground military bunker built into the side of a mountain. It was constructed in secret and serves one purpose–to covertly produce weapons-grade highly enriched uranium.”
“The president argues that surprise inspections will prevent Fordow from being used for military purposes, but the idea that will compel compliance puts far too much trust in a regime that regularly deploys double-talk, delay tactics and manipulation when it comes to dealing with the international community. There is absolutely no reason, given the regime’s history, to believe that international inspectors will have the ability to honestly see what is going on at Fordow. None.”
“If the administration truly was ‘adhering to’ the concept of ‘no deal is better than a bad deal,’ we would have walked away from these negotiations long ago.”
“The regime in Teheran is clearly in the driver’s seat, and the president is just along for the ride. The danger is obvious. In a push to cement his legacy, President Obama is willing to concede just about every demand with which we started out.”
“Unless we walk away, the end result will be chaos for the region, and the world at large, for years to come.”
John Boozman is the senior U.S. Senator for the state of Arkansas.