‘Mini-Deal,’ Maximum Mistake

by Joseph Frager / JNS.org

JNS.org – Both Winston Churchill and Abba Eban have been credited with saying, “Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing… after they have exhausted all other possibilities.” It is believed that Churchill said or at the very least felt this way prior to America’s entrance into World War II.

It has been reported that the Biden administration is planning to make a so-called “mini-deal” with Iran that will pay the Islamic republic tens of billions of dollars, presumably instead of former President Barack Obama’s $150 billion in 2015.

The latest deal, which Israeli officials call “imminent,” would attempt to freeze Iran’s enrichment of uranium at 60%. As a sign that Israeli concerns about such a deal are warranted, America issued a waiver last week that allowed Iraq to pay $2.76 billion in oil debts to Iran. Iran is also expecting $7 billion from South Korea for oil purchases.

Iran is not to be trusted. Its leaders have learned from North Korea how to dupe and deceive America at every turn. The Iranians used Obama’s $150 billion to arm Hamas and Hezbollah to the teeth, send tens of thousands of troops to Syria who targeted American soldiers, equip Russia with thousands of drones and other equipment for use in the invasion of Ukraine and increase its terrorist activities worldwide.

Iran has also placed million-dollar bounties on a number of Americans’ heads, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former National Security Adviser John Bolton.

North Korea was playing its nuclear game as far back as President George W. Bush’s administration, ultimately producing multiple nuclear bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles that can be armed with nuclear warheads. It certainly feels like “deja vu all over again.”

Why America allowed North Korea to obtain nuclear weapons has never been explained to me by any American official. Clearly, the world became very unsafe as a result. Iran is trying to do the same thing.

State Department Spokesman Matt Miller said, “Our number one policy is ensuring that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, so of course we’ve been watching Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities.”

This is pure bluster. The only difference between what happened in North Korea and what seems to be happening in Iran is that Israel stands in the way. The only real deterrent against Iran is the threat that Israel will wipe out Iran’s nuclear reactors.

When I spoke to current Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in 2019, he told me that Israel could “do the job” in two days. It may be somewhat harder now, because Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program at a rapid pace with ever-deeper and better protected facilities. In May, Gallant said, “If Iran enriches to the 90% weaponized level, it would be a great error and the price would be heavy.”

The possibility of an Israeli military strike could have been averted had America capitalized on the Iranian protest movement that broke out after the murder of Mahsa Amini by the regime’s “modesty police.” The movement might have brought about regime change.

Instead of taking advantage of the situation, the US allowed the opportunity to slip through its fingers. The movement was ruthlessly and barbarically squashed by the mullahs. Making a deal with the Iranians now puts a nail in the coffin of the movement.

This so called “mini-deal” is a maximum mistake. The Biden administration should think twice before agreeing to it.

Content retrieved from: https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/06/18/mini-deal-maximum-mistake/.