Acting in opposition by the public and Congress Obama moves forward with Iran nulcear deal that many believe will put the West at risk.
Despite objections to the Iran Nuclear Deal from the American people and many in Congress, President Obama has signed an executive order lifting economic sanctions against Iran. Essentially giving them $150M dollars, which many believe will be used to continue their long history of funding terrorism around the world. Obama signed the order today, stating that Iran’s compliance with the deal “marks a fundamental shift in circumstances with respect to Iran’s nuclear program.”
Putting aside the much discussed questions of legality for a moment, one has to ask this question: if this is such a wonderful deal, why must the president act alone? Against the will of those who elected him president? If this deal was the right thing for America, wouldn’t there be a broad backing of support? How we can remove sanctions against a nation whose leadership openly and actively chants “Death to America” and openly states their desire for Israel, our only ally in the Middle East, is to be wiped off the map. This defies all logic and puts the U.S. in a dangerous position with the rest of the world when Iran does not comply with the terms of the potentially illegal executive order.
Lifting of sanctions is part of an international deal made last year with Iran, the United States and five other world powers when Iran agreed to curb it nuclear program in exchange for relief on economic sanctions.
The Washington Times reports:
Certification by the International Atomic Energy Agency will allow Iran to immediately recoup some $100 billion in assets frozen overseas. Iran will also see huge benefits from new oil, trade and financial opportunities after Western sanctions against it are lifted.
IAEA director general Yukiya Amano said Saturday this means “relations between Iran and the IAEA now enter a new phase. It is an important day for the international community. I congratulate all those who helped make it a reality.”
In Congress, Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, said the administration was lifting sanctions “on the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”
“As the president himself has acknowledged, Iran is likely to use this cash infusion — more than $100 billion in total — to finance terrorists,” Mr. Ryan said. “This comes just weeks after Tehran’s most recent illegal ballistic missile test, and just days after [Iranian forces] detained 10 American sailors. A bipartisan majority in the House voted to reject this deal in the first place, and we will continue to do everything possible to prevent a nuclear Iran.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, California Republican, said the “flawed” deal is allowing Iran to keep much of its nuclear infrastructure.
“The ayatollah won’t even have to cheat to be just steps away from a nuclear weapon,” Mr. Royce said. “Meanwhile, tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief will now start flowing to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Since the nuclear deal was signed, Iran has twice violated U.N. resolutions to test ballistic missiles, fired rockets within 1,500 yards of the U.S.S. Truman, and seized 10 American sailors — all while propping up the murderous Assad regime in Syria. Iran will use this deal to become more militarily aggressive and dominate the region.”
Senior administration officials said Iran has complied with the deal since October by shipping out 25,000 pounds of enriched nuclear material to Russia, reducing its stockpile by 98 percent; disabling its reactor at Arak; cutting the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges from 18,000 to about 6,000; halting enrichment at its Fordow facility; and allowing IAEA inspectors “unprecedented” access to its facilities.
“We’ve reached a milestone that’s created a safer region and a safer world,” said one administration official.
At the same time, the administration engaged in a high-profile prisoner swap with Tehran. Iran agreed Saturday to release four detained Americans in exchange for seven Iranians held or charged in the U.S., while a fifth American detained in Iran, a student, was also released in an unrelated move.
The wife of an Idaho pastor who is among four detained Americans being released from Iran says the news is “a huge burden lifted off.”
With Israel being directly in the cross-hairs of Iran’s should Iran break the agreement and obtain nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been very outspoken in opposition to the nuclear deal. Despite his all-out lobbying against the agreement, he his pleas were unsuccessful. His warning that Iran has not given up its nuclear ambitions were essentially ignored by the Obama Administration. His office urged world powers Saturday to respond harshly to any violations of the deal by Iran.
Without that, “Iran will think it can continue to develop a nuclear weapon, destabilize the region and spread terror,” the Netanyahu’s statement said.
The prisoners released as a result of this deal are an answer to many prayers and the family and friends of those prisoners must be elated to have their family members returned, but there are so many issues with this so-called agreement that I believe history will not look upon this deal with favor. It is clear that we learned nothing from Clinton’s deal with North Korea allowing them to join the Nuclear club.
I believe history will prove, just like it did with North Korea, to be a grave mistake. The difference being, I believe, that the instability and the history of extremism in Iran poses a great risk to Israel and all nations of the West should Iran develop nuclear weapons.
