Best bet yet

The US administration is pulling out all stops in its efforts to rewrite the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and international powers. Even a three-day visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Washington could not lessen President Donald Trump’s resolve to do so and Macron was forced to admit his failure to deter the American plan. The French leader’s pledge not to allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons cut no ice with either Trump or US lawmakers who are convinced of the urgency of undoing the agreement — which was hammered out together by seven other states.

The European Union’s stance has been fairly consistent and principled: the deal just cannot be renegotiated as it reflects the collective will of more than half a dozen nations and was achieved after gruelling and painstaking efforts. On Wednesday, Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, ruled out the possibility of any renegotiation with global powers. And one can understand why. Tehran has chosen to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. This viewpoint resonates well with that of Russia — which is among those countries that have actively worked to convince US President Donald Trump not to reverse the landmark 2015 deal. Washington’s or Trump’s main grouse against the deal stems from the fact that the nuclear programme restrictions are not permanent and apply specifically to the next seven years.

And despite assurances by France that Iran would not expand its nuclear programme even beyond 2025, the United States remains deeply skeptical. Macron has proposed an additional pact that extends Iran’s nuclear restrictions while also curbing its ballistic missile programme and support for militias in the Middle East. But Tehran is in no mood for changes in the agreement. At the moment it does make eminent sense to build on the deal and not scrap it. Until there is an alternative to the pact, this may be the best bet yet.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2018.

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