The Folly of the Iranian Nuclear Deal | Teen Ink

The Folly of the Iranian Nuclear Deal

July 27, 2015
By Caesar123 DIAMOND, Union Grove, Wisconsin
Caesar123 DIAMOND, Union Grove, Wisconsin
50 articles 7 photos 103 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Madness in great ones must not unwatched go" --Claudius in William Shakespeare's Hamlet


On July 14, 2015, the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) reached a deal with Iran on the progression of its nuclear program. While the negotiators on both sides have hailed this as a positive, long-term solution that will be good for everyone, opposition has cropped up in both Washington and Tehran. With the apparent mystique swirling around this deal, I think it best to dissect it and analyze it in order to better understand the folly that the Obama administration has insisted on plunging us into.
 

First off, there are two nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran, at Natanz and Fordo. According to the deal, enrichment will only be allowed only at Natanz and be limited to a level of 3.67%. No enrichment will be allowed at Fordo for at least 15 years, and the facility will apparently only be used to produce radioisotopes for medical, agricultural, industrial, and scientific purposes. Second, the heavy-water reactor near Arak, which produces weapons-grade plutonium as a byproduct, will be redesigned and all byproduct it produces shipped out of the country. Third, there is a provision for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send inspectors to Iran and view any scientific site that they deem suspicious. They may also request access to military sites in search of fissile material, but Iran reserves the right to refuse them access to such sites.
 

Now some of this sounds peachy keen, but there are certain parts left unmentioned that significantly alter the composition of the deal. For example, Iran will be limited to creating uranium enriched to 3.67%, enough to run a power plant, but will still possess the ability to make 90% or more enriched uranium, which is what is needed to create an operable nuclear bomb. In addition, the deal confirms that Iran will retain the right to refuse to have inspectors investigate military sites, no matter how suspicious, at least until international arbitration on the subject takes place.
 

All of the details aside, the mere fact that Iran will continue to progress in developing nuclear technology is sheer stupidity. Mere days ago, Ayatollah Khamenei made a speech in Tehran that claimed the deal was “180 degrees” opposed to Iranian policy and that he would defy the world leaders who had negotiated it. This was followed by chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”. To give a country that very clearly hates us, and, despite numerous concessions, will seemingly not stop hating us, is perhaps one of the most idiotic things that the Obama administration has done yet. I do not agree with the left on many subjects, but I would have to wager that this is something that we have never seen before. I suppose I cannot say for certain, but I doubt that even Bill Clinton or the Cold War Democratic Presidents would have made such a deal. Not with a country that has done nothing but defy America and give us the political middle finger. This deal is not only stupid: it is dangerous.
 

We can not trust Iran. Even to this day they refuse to release details of much of the nuclear program they had been developing prior to 2003 when, according to the CIA, they halted production of making nuclear weapons, most likely in lieu of the beginning of the Iraq War. For 18 years they hid the details of their nuclear program, including the fact that they were wantonly enriching uranium, from the IAEA. Yes, that’s right, the same IAEA that they now promise to comply with. All of those actions are a clear violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which Iran is an adamant signatory of.
 

Besides all of this, realize where Iran is located. The Middle East is one of the most unstable regions in the world. Even if the Iranians are telling the truth that they do not want to use this technology in a weaponized format against the United States or any of her allies, who’s to say that ISIS or al-Qaeda or Assad’s regime in Syria wouldn’t be willing? After all, many of the sites described are only a few hundred miles from the Iran-Iraq border. Who’s to say that some sort of insurgency or extraction wouldn’t take place? Who’s to say that ISIS wouldn’t attempt to take Iranian land as it has to Iraq and Syria, especially if nuclear weapons are the ultimate prize?
 

In short, if Iran wishes to develop its nuclear technology for peaceful purposes it should first show complete transparency to the IAEA, detailing every iota of what it did with its nuclear program prior to 2003. It should also allow for full inspection by the IAEA in all facilities, not merely scientific ones, and it should remove all aspects of anti-American sentiment from the highest ranks of its government. It would also be nice if they agreed to allow women and gays more freedom, but I find this facet unlikely at best, and a deal-breaker in and of itself. In short, we have this technology. They don’t. So if Iran wishes to join the ranks of the nuclear capable world then it should first present itself as a respectable society and respectable state to the global community. Then, and only then, should Iran receive any sort of agreement or deal to continue its development of nuclear technology.

 

MSN and BBC contributed to this report.


The author's comments:

Just a little angry about the nuke deal with Iran getting the green light. Here's to hoping that they don't blow us all to smithereens in the next few years!


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