Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:09 pm
Most Republicans seeking the nomination for president beefed like hell during the August 6 debate over the negotiated nuclear agreement with Iran. Rand Paul, totally ignorant of the decades-long history of U.S. and world sanctions against Iran, said he thought President Obama “gave away too much, too early.” Donald Trump declared, “We’re giving them $150 billion.
Trump is clearly buying into a figure not currently remotely accurate, much like his claimed net worth. Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew, puts the number closer to $55 billion according to HuffPost. In point of fact, what rials (Iran’s currency) are being unfrozen, are Iran’s OWN money. The Trump number is so far off because much of the money that will soon be accessible (pending U.S. approval) has already been committed elsewhere. Iran owes tens of billions in non-performing loans, for instance. You’d think a businessman of Trump’s “stature” would be more aware.
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Mike Huckabee fusses that it’s a deal “in which we got nothing.” He couldn’t know less about the issue. As you continue reading, you’ll note Secretary of State Kerry and company realized enormous concessions. Ted Cruz, proving he perhaps knows even less than the aforementioned three, actually claims Iran’s on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon.
If even three of the remaining seventeen candidates have read every page of the agreement, I’ll parade in front of The Lincoln Memorial in a pink tutu. Bush might have read it. Possibly Jindal, maybe even Fiorina. I strongly suspect all of the remaining pretenders to the presidency relied on staff notes or extreme right-wing sources for their information.
I’ll go you one better than that. I daresay the majority of aspirants can’t name every negotiating country involved. FYI: the negotiators included the United State, France, Germany, Great Britain, a rep of the European Union, China, Russia and, of course, Iran. The group is collectively known as E3/EU+3. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Security Council will play vital roles in the ongoing approval and enforcement of the negotiated agreement. As part of the agreement, IAEA has declared that what remains of Iran’s nuclear program could only serve civilian purposes.
Do Republicans and some DINO’s (Democrats In Name Only) even know the official title of the deal they so roundly renounce? Doubtful, and neither do the candidates. Impress at the next family gathering: It’s the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and it runs 159 pages.
A vote on JCPOA will hold center stage when Congress returns from its summer hiatus after Labor Day. Rejection will require a two-thirds vote of both the House and the Senate. If nothing happens by September 17, the president can move forward with the agreement. If, on the other hand, the Republican majority can muster the necessary votes required to scuttle the deal, it may indeed remain scuttled and Iran continues toward becoming the possessor of nuclear bombs, virtually unencumbered. The only hope is enough votes to support the president’s inevitable veto.
Stats from the Council on Foreign Relations indicate that sanctions against Iran date back to the U.S. reaction to the 1979-1981 Iranian hostage crises. At that time, Democratic President Jimmy Carter froze all Iranian assets. Additional sanctions were added in 1984 by the Reagan administration as a result of Iran’s support of Hezbollah, the prime mover behind the U.S. Marine base bombing in Beirut. Iran was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. A goodly number of sanctions remain in place as a result of that assignation. And there are numerous additional American sanctions, 2012 being a painful example for Iran. These sanctions are still in effect and not impacted by the JCPOA agreement.
There had already been a precursor ‘mini’ interim nuclear agreement, the Joint Plan of Action (JPA), signed in late 2013 that granted the lifting of some sanctions on the condition of limiting uranium enrichment and allowing inspectors access to “sensitive” sites.
There have also been UN Security Council sanctions since 2006 including an embargo on those materials used to produce and enrich uranium. Resolutions in 2007-2008 blocked all non- humanitarian financial assistance and starting in June of 2010, the UN initiated sanctions similar to those of the U.S.
Not to be outdone, the European Union has its own set of sanctions in place with special emphasis on the banking, insurance and financial sectors. Many will disappear if the new agreement passes U.S. legislative muster.
For you haters, unable to separate governments from their innocent citizens, Iran has suffered; the government, the economy and the citizenry. Happy? In April, U.S. Treasury Secretary Lew tallied up some of the damage. The 2012 action resulted in an economy lowered by 15-20%. Since 2012, Iran has lost $160 billion in oil revenue alone. Sort of takes care of Trump’s alleged 150 billion in one fell swoop. The value of the Iranian currency declined by 56% between 2012 and 2014. Inflation exploded to 40%. The unemployment rate was estimated at 20%. For the balanced budget congressional freaks, Iran required $92.50 per barrel of oil to balance theirs. Brent crude has been selling for around $65.
JCPOA keeps IAEA’s nose in Iran’s nuclear business for many years, with some critical areas to be monitored for the next quarter century. A team of 130-150 inspectors can actually look into certain key areas every day for the next 15 years. Overall, IAEA will be checking nuclear materials, research and development, support, uranium stocks, uranium isotope separation activities, centrifuges, reactors, production plants, heavy water, spent fuel reprocessing, fuel enrichment capacity and any number of other suspicious targets that could be turned into nuclear bomb hardware.
Everything is spelled out in infinitesimal detail and covers virtually all of the 159 pages. And it’s no longer possible that, countering UN Security Council wishes, a George W. Bush and his evil twin, Cheney, will be able to kick IAEA out of Iran as they did in Iraq (along with a UN inspection team) March 18, 2003 so they could start a “Shock and Awe” billionaire’s war obscenity two days later. There’s a section specifically dealing with such actions.
Oh, and don’t be too hard on long-time New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer. He’s against the agreement and now even Democrats are calling him names. Schumer, who is Jeweish, is one of the more courageous and reasonable gun legislation senators and a reliable progressive voice. He is between a Bibi Netanyahu rock and a heavily Jewish constituency hard place. Schumer has little choice in the matter of his opposition.
The pressure must be enormous. I would only ask that he consider that no agreement and adding additional sanctions (that’s what the Republicans want) would turn Iran into a nuclear-obsessed tinder box. No matter the hellish rhetoric coming from a certain Ayatollah, this agreement allows for a lengthy cooling off period and a lowering of investigative barriers that can only benefit the world community. It’s really a last non-proliferation resort.
So, I forgive the senator for being in a no win situation and still respect most of his votes on behalf of progressives. You can’t help but being sympathetic to Jewish concerns as well. Thanks to the Washington Post, you can read the agreement here.
It includes this sentence: “Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.”
Beats another World War!
Raised rural & small town, then lived in N.Y., Chicago & LA. Widely traveled. Returned from world wandering to pursue media life of anchorman/reporter and major, medium and small market talk radio. Highly active in politics. Once worked as orderly & security in Mens Lock Ward for the Criminally Insane at a state institution. Much more rational population than current Teapublicans. Great concern for country run by and for the extreme wealthy. The inhumane current running through this country has no precedent in modern history.
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