The Wrecking of the Nuclear Deal

The wrecking of the nuclear deal is part of the larger problem of having a deranged Iran policy.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, and the U.S. is no closer to rejoining it now than it was when Biden took office. It is a measure of how little most people in Washington care about nonproliferation and the integrity of U.S. promises that there has been no significant pressure on Biden to honor his promise to rejoin the agreement. Instead, virtually all of the pressure has come from the hardliners that never wanted any agreement and have sought to destroy this one from the start. One of the most significant and successful nonproliferation agreements on record was thrown in the trash by an incompetent president, and the collective response from most elected officials and almost all of the foreign policy establishment has been to shrug.

We all know that there was no good reason for the U.S. to renege on its commitments in 2018. Relations with Iran, regional security, and U.S. interests have all suffered as a result of that terrible decision. The U.S. and Iran have come dangerously close to war at least twice in the years since as a result of the rising tensions caused by U.S. withdrawal and the ensuing economic warfare. Iran has paid a steep price for its willingness to accept a negotiated compromise on the nuclear issue.