Biden's rush to get back in Obama's terrible Iran deal is more evidence of dementia

 Washington Examiner Editorial:

Why on Earth would the United States rush to rejoin the unreformed 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear accord?

We have two observations here.

First, there should be no doubt that the Iran nuclear deal was an unmitigated failure.

One key failing is the accord’s inability to restrain Iran’s rampant research of ballistic missile technology. Cloaked under the absurd pretense of civilian satellite research, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has spent the past five years steadily improving its means to deliver a nuclear warhead. Considering the severe economic pressure Tehran is suffering, the fact that it continues to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at its ballistic missile program is good evidence for the regime’s desire to be able to wage nuclear war.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry’s diplomatic masterpiece also retains totally inadequate inspection protocols. Iran has a 30 days’ notice grace period before it must give international inspectors access to a site. Helpfully for Iran’s warhead weaponization research, military sites are off-limits.

Perhaps most important of all, the accord’s so-called “snapback” sanctions mechanisms have been proved impotent. The International Atomic Energy Agency recently reported that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is now 12 times the level that is allowed under the accord. In addition, Iran has installed new centrifuges and is enriching uranium up to a 4.5% purity, beyond the 3.67% cap imposed under the deal. Iran has accomplished these patent breaches of its pledges in the open, proudly proclaiming its disdain for the remaining members of the accord it once solemnly signed.

Astonishingly, President-elect Joe Biden, his State Department nominee Antony Blinken, and his national security adviser Jake Sullivan don’t seem terribly concerned about this reality. Instead, they present the speedy return to the nuclear accord as an exigent requirement of regional stability and restored confidence with our European allies.

This leads to our second contention: There’s a better path forward.

The Iranian regime is in desperate need of U.S. sanctions relief. Its economy is at rock bottom, suffering soaring inflation and unemployment. Tehran’s foreign capital reserves are all but evaporated. While parts of this economic calamity is a consequence of the government’s mismanagement and the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration’s sanctions also bear significant responsibility. Threatening European companies with a loss of access to U.S. markets if they continued dealing with Iran, the U.S. has overseen a great capital evacuation from Tehran. This economic weakness has depleted the resource pool available for the export of the Islamic revolution. Were Ayatollah Ali Khamenei forced to endure one more year of this pressure, his regime would be forced into choosing between risking an economically precipitated regime collapse and accepting U.S. demands for an improved nuclear accord.

Why not use this leverage?

...

The original deal made no sense and getting back into it makes even less sense.  About the only good thing to come out of it is that the Arab states in the region now see Israel as an ally and not as an enemy.  None of Iran's neighbors support the deal.  It is easily one of the least intelligent agreements in history.   Obama could not sell this deal to Congress and that is why it was not a treaty.  Trump would be wise to submit to the Senate for a vote before leaving office.