Memorandum on The Iran Nuclear Deal
Memorandum on The Iran Nuclear Deal
To: Donald Trump, President of the United States
From: Michael Herlihy, Secretary of State
Date: April 22, 2018
Re: Iran Nuclear Deal
Introduction:
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was agreed upon in 2015 by the P5 +1. Mr. President, you have throughout your campaign and presidency have talked about pulling out of this agreement. As your Secretary of State, I would highly recommend to not leave this agreement. This deal has been approved by UK, Russia, France, China, Germany, and the United States. Over 90 other countries have also endorsed the agreement but leaving would only cause more harm for our own national interests.
The Middle East has been a problem for the United States due to our involvement there. Leaving the deal would cause massive diplomatic problems for us as well. This would show the international community that we do not stick by our deals that we have made. This also gives leverage to China and Russia as they have agreed to this deal as well and us leaving would give them the ability to claim that we do not hold up our end of the bargain. The deal that is in place allows for Iran to not build a nuclear warhead without the knowledge of the international community. If peace is what we are looking for Mr. President, then our best interests should be to stay in the deal.
Evidence:
Under this agreement, Iran has agreed to reduce its amount of centrifuges from 19,000 to just a little over 6,000 as well as keeping the enrichment level at 3.67%. To create a nuclear weapon, the enrichment level needs to be at 90%. The amount of time that Iran would need to be able to build any nuclear device would be about a year instead of what it previously had of 3 to 4 months. Iran is subjected to inspections to ensure that there is not a device being built and is up to the standards that they agreed upon. Iran also will convert their enrichment plant into a research center. They will be allowed to conduct research
One problem that seems to come up is that Iran received money from this deal. This is something that has been heavily skewed by media outlets. Mr. President, I understand that you have tweeted about this money as well. This was money that was owed to Iran due to past negotiations that the United States has had. It goes back to 1979 when the Embassy was taken over. We as a country froze the assets that were in the United States at the time. This whole negotiation for the money has nothing to do with the Nuclear deal that has been agreed upon.
Implementation:
The United States has been a substantial part of the International community and leaving The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action would not be a wise decision. Mr. President, you have left the Trans Pacific Partnership and have also said that we will leave the Paris Climate Agreement. These moves only show that we are backing out of our commitments and help for countries like China and Russia to gain more power. Staying in this framework shows that the United States is still very much a part of this International community and that we will not allow for other countries to undermine our own needs.
Ultimately I would recommend that we stay within the Iran Nuclear Deal. Even though it only guarantees that Iran will not have a nuclear device for 15 years it is still in the right direction. The deal, even if you do not think so, has been fair for the parties involved. This should help stabilize the Middle East. The deal itself also will make Iran’s capabilities after the 15 years tough as they have agreed to also join the Additional Protocol. It may not be perfect for you but it provides stability. Iran has to go through many inspections by the UN. It is not that easy to hide a nuclear weapon especially when at any point inspectors could come. Stability in the Middle East is very important and this should help provide that.
I agree, Mike. I think that the most important thing right now is fostering stability in the Middle East. The area has been so unstable for so long that we can't ignore what is happening there. To add the threat of nuclear weapons could be detrimental to the safety of the global community. As I mentioned in my memo, Iran does not fear its own destruction which is very unsettling in the fact that they have threatened the United States before. Iran with nuclear capabilities poses a major international security threat. Pulling out of the deal would be detrimental to the efforts being made in the Middle East and would show the international community that the United States is not true to its word. In my opinion I think that more stringent provisions need to be set in place within this deal in order to further guard against Iran's development of nuclear weapons.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that as long as Trump is trying to make a deal with North Korea, he cannot be simultaneously trying to back out of the one in Iran. That said, there is nothing stopping him from renegotiating the treaty. The major question is what the United States is willing to give up in terms of its demands, and whether Iran accepting or rejecting these demands affects U.S. support of the deal. From Iran's point of view, the U.S. is threatening the balance of power in the region via its unmitigated support of Israel, who also reportedly has nuclear weapons. I am also wary of the inspections themselves, because other regimes (like North Korea) have kicked out inspectors before, and without oversight were able to develop a nuclear program from previously existing institutions (such as the one in the Iran deal). They also need to give a 90 day advance notice to the Iranian government before the inspections, giving them time to hide as much as they can about a potential nuclear program before inspection day comes.
ReplyDeleteStaying in the deal is the best way to make sure Iran does not create or get any nuclear weapons. If they United States were to remove itself from the deal, then it would be a lot easier for Iran to decide to make nuclear weapons.
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