Give talks with Iran chance, but this time, don't bypass Congress

(JNS) — Former President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, officially the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, failed because it was ill-conceived, incompetently implemented, sold to the American people on a series of lies and bastardized the Constitution.

Obama believed that both America’s “friends” and the Iranians needed to “find an effective way to share the neighborhood.” Chief among those “friends” was Israel. Obama was intent on shifting American policy from an Israel-centric Middle East to an American-sponsored bipolar region to be split between the Jews and Persians.

Rather than “blocking all paths to a nuclear weapon,” the Obama administration created a legal path for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. While it was against international law for Iran to engage in any uranium enrichment when Obama was president, he and then-Secretary of State John Kerry worked overtime to ensure that the prohibition would be removed and that any remaining limitations on Iran’s uranium enrichment expired in 2030.

Instead of “anywhere, anytime inspections,” it prohibited the world from inspecting Iranian military sites and established a morass of procedures for inspectors if they suspected Iranian violations of the agreement.

Instead of denying the Islamic Republic a weapons system with which it could deliver a nuclear warhead, the Obama administration worked assiduously to eliminate all international barriers blocking Iran’s development of a ballistic missile system.

Obama’s claim that the agreement would moderate Iran’s behavior and make it a more responsible member of the international community was risible. The $115 billion in sanctions relief was not used to build schools, hospitals, roads and bridges. It was used by the leading state sponsor of terrorism to finance its war machine, global terrorist network and hegemonic goals in the Middle East.

It was all rammed down the throats of a skeptical American public despite overwhelming bipartisan opposition premised on the lie that there were “moderates” in Iran who needed to be empowered.

Rather than giving the U.S. Senate a chance to fulfill its constitutional duty and ratify the treaty he negotiated, Obama twisted and distorted the Constitution beyond recognition to prevent the Senate from having any meaningful input.

Obama’s delusions and lies, coupled with former President Joe Biden’s pathetic policy of appeasement toward Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, led directly to Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. That is the definition of failure.

President Donald Trump, who withdrew the United States from Obama’s JCPOA debacle in May 2018 and instituted a campaign of “maximum pressure” during his first term in office, is now negotiating with Iran over its nuclear-weapons program. Understandably, the president would like to resolve issues with Iran peacefully. Call me skeptical about his chances for success.

I do not believe Iran will ever give up and dismantle its nuclear program. I do not think there is any possibility that the ayatollah will surrender his ballistic missile system. I remain convinced the mullahs are dedicated to funding and expanding their global terrorist network. I do not think there are “moderates” in the Iranian government. I think it is more likely the sun will rise in the West than the Iranian Regime will give up its goal of destroying Israel.

I firmly believe the only solution to the Iranian nuclear issue is a massive military strike. Yet, I want to be proven wrong. 

When all is said and done, if Trump succeeds in reaching an agreement that achieves these multiple goals, the treaty must be ratified by the Senate with a two-thirds majority. The president must succeed where Obama failed most, by following the Constitution and winning the support of the American people.

Eric R. Levine is a founding member of the New York City law firm Eiseman, Levine, Lehrhaupt & Kakoyiannis, P.C. He is an essayist, political commentator and fundraiser for Republican candidates with an emphasis on the United States Senate.