The agreement says that ‘under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.’
President Obama now has the votes to sustain his promised veto of the expected congressional rejection of the Iran deal. But even some in Congress who will vote for the deal have expressed concern about Iran ultimately obtaining a nuclear arsenal. According to recent polling, this fear is widely shared by the general public.
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| Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaking in Tehran, Sept. 3. Photo: European Pressphoto Agency |
There is still a way to reduce the odds of that understandable fear materializing. The key lies in the words of the deal itself. In both the “preface” and the “preamble and general provisions,” the following commitment is made: “Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.” This noteworthy provision is rarely mentioned by supporters of the agreement, yet it may turn out to be its saving grace, because it is the only provision that sets no time limit on the prohibition against Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons.
That President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and other administration officials do not point to this reaffirmation may suggest that they view it as merely hortatory rather than as an integral and enforceable component of the agreement. Whether or not these words are binding as a technical matter of law, they represent a public reaffirmation by the Iranian government of its intentions in entering into this agreement. If Iran does not have those intentions, the public ought to be aware of that.
The public must also now be told whether the other signatories to the agreement understood that Iran has agreed that “under no circumstances” will it “ever” seek nuclear weapons—even after the various time frames of the deal expire.Read the rest of this Alan Dershowitz op-ed HERE.
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