By Robert B. Davis
President Obama is implementing the Iran nuclear agreement, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with Machiavellian, unconstitutional stratagems. He circumvented the Constitution by not submitting the agreement as a treaty, whose ratification would require a two-thirds Senate majority. He enshrined the accord in international law at the UN Security Council, presenting Congress with a fait accompli.
Congress could only review the JCPOA and related agreements and accept or reject Obama’s waver of Iran sanctions. Congress never received the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s confidential agreements with Iran, containing the inspection regime, as required by the Corker-Cardin bill passed earlier in 2015. Congress opposed the agreement, but the President will uphold it, with the House of Representatives failing to achieve a veto-proof majority. Senate Democrats already defeated one cloture motion, likely denying Senators any vote at all.
These unsavory tactics were Obama’s only recourse. The one-sided deal is unpopular. Iran committed to cutting centrifuges by almost two-thirds, as well as reducing uranium enrichment from 20 percent to 3.67 percent and enriched uranium to 300 kilograms. It agreed to redesign the Arak heavy water reactor, designed to produce weapons-grade plutonium. However, only declared nuclear sites will be subject to 24/7 inspections. Secretary of State Kerry accepted Ayatollah Khameini and Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif’s refusal to delineate previous efforts to weaponize nuclear technology. Without baseline knowledge, assessments of the potential for nuclear break-out are problematic. Defense Minister Dehgen states he will not allow inspection of military sites.
The IAEA must petition Iran for access to undeclared sites, giving it 24 days to comply. Factoring in dispute resolution, this could mean two to three months. The lifting of sanctions and dispersal of over $100 billion in frozen Iranian assets is front-loaded. Kerry reassured Congress sanctions could be “snapped back,” but the JCPOA states a snap back releases Iran from its obligations. The Europeans are rushing to sign contracts with Iran, and these will be “grandfathered.” Snap back would only be invoked in extreme circumstances. No graduated penalties exist for lesser infractions, meaning no effective enforcement regime exists, encouraging Iran to engage in a “sneak out” strategy.
https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/253406-obamas-shameful-appeasement-of-iran
