Barack Obama, has issued a statement criticizing Donald Trumpβs decision to withdraw from the Obama administrationβs 2015 Iran nuclear deal as βa serious mistake.βΒ
According to The New York Times, Trumpβs decision to withdraw is rooted in an unfound claim that the deal hasnβt reduced nuclear proliferation by Iran, but has made things worse. βThis was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,β he said. βIt didnβt bring calm, it didnβt bring peace, and it never will.β
Fortunately, Barack Obama has issued a lengthy statement criticizing this reasoning and its resulting decision, bringing some much needed fact-based intellect into the discussion.Β
Obama begins by explaining that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) put in place during his administration has been working wonders for the region, and thereby, the decrease of nuclear proliferation through diplomacy, in general. βThat is why todayβs announcement is so misguided,β he wrote. βThe JCPOA is workingβthat is a view shared by our European allies, independent experts, and the current U.S. Secretary of Defense.β
According to BuzzFeed journalist Borzou Daragahi, President Rouhani states Iran will continue the nuclear deal as usual, if all other members of the JCPOA agreement can guarantee Iranβs interests of safety. If not, Iran will will restart uranium enrichment at industrial scale to defend itself. Unfortunately, this is how rapidly things can fall apart, once diplomacy falls by the wayside, and aggression takes its place.Β
Obama, of course, is baffled by Trumpβs decision. βWalking away from the JCPOA turns our back on Americaβs closest allies, and an agreement that our countryβs leading diplomats, scientists, and intelligence professionals negotiated,β he wrote. Obama understands that policies change from administration to the next. βBut the consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding Americaβs credibility, and puts us at odds with the worldβs major powers.β
Unfortunately, todayβs developments ring alarm bells for anyone who has lived under the Bush administration, with clear echoes to the run-up to the Iraq War in 2003βwhich unquestionably reduced this countryβs credibility in terms of military intervention and reasonable diplomatic strategy.
Obama makes sure to express that the deal reached during his administration wasnβt just a victory for the Democratic Party, or a globally unpopular move. βWe reached the JCPOA together with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the European Union, Russia, China, and Iran,β he wrote. βIt is a multilateral arms control deal, unanimously endorsed by a United Nations Security council Resolution.β
As of today, all of this effort is at risk of being wiped awayβwith the worst consequences including mushroom clouds. βSince the JCPOA was implemented, Iran has destroyed the core of a reactor that could have produced weapons-grade plutonium; removed two-thirds of its centrifuges (over 13,000) and placed them under international monitoring; and eliminated 97 percent of its stockpile of enriched uraniumβthe raw materials necessary for a bomb,β wrote Obama.Β
As for Donald Trumpβs childish claims that the Iran deal βdidnβt bring peace,β Obama is well aware that a diplomatic agreement doesnβt suddenly generate a My Little Pony reality where violence ceases to exist and the sewers smell like rosesβbut it can, and has proven to, reduce the risk of war.Β
βFinally, the JCPOA was never intended to solve all of our problems with Iran,β he wrote. βOur ability to confront Iranβs destabilizing behaviorβand to sustain a unity of purpose with our alliesβis strengthened with the JCPOA, and weakened without it.β