By Joseph Frager
America is about to sign off on a second disastrous and foolhardy nuclear deal with Iran.
Like Yogi Berra said, it’s “déjà vu all over again.” The same people who made the first bad deal in 2015 are about to make another. The only difference is that it is not Barack Obama at the helm but President Joe Biden.
Once again, Israel’s concerns are not being given the time of day. Biden has said over and over again that he will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. He told this to Israeli officials on his recent visit to Israel.
The problem is that Iran is nearly at the point of nuclear breakout and a nuclear bomb is achievable in a very short time. No deal is going to stop the Iranians at this point. The deal will only be “smoke and mirrors.” In a very important sense, a bad deal is worse than no deal at all.
The two main American critics of the first Iran deal, former National Security Advisor John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo now have Iranian bounties on their heads.
The Iranians learned how to build a bomb and fool the West from North Korea. Iran has been following the same playbook for years. All the while, it has used the $150 billion it received from Obama as part of the 2015 deal to remain the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world.
North Korea had 40 nuclear weapons, along with the ability to make at least seven more per year and outfit its long-range missiles with nuclear warheads. If one looks at the timeline of North Korea’s agreements and deals with the United States and the West from 1994 until its nuclear breakout in 2006, one sees an eerie reminder of Iran’s actions.
The difference, however, is that Iran is in the Middle East. Although South Korea is central to America’s interests, the Gulf states and Israel are game changers. The oil states have all joined Israel via the Abraham Accords to fend off Iranian aggression. Yes, the Abraham Accords go much further and deeper than that, but it was Iran’s nuclear ambitions that got the ball rolling.
Israel is not South Korea. It will not tolerate a nuclear Iran. There is no way of “containing” a nuclear Iran as some on the left have proposed. I believe that the proponents of a second Iran deal actually believe containment is possible. This is sheer fantasy. Israel and the Gulf states will hold Biden to his promise that Iran will not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon under his watch.
I have spoken to Israeli officials about how long it would take to obliterate Iran’s nuclear capabilities. The answer was always “a few days.” These were high-level officials with the intelligence to back up their statements.
There have been reports of Israeli F-35 jets flying over Iranian airspace. I don’t doubt it.
Biden is determined to sign a second Iran deal. It plays well in the left’s universe. It is not going to stop the Iranians from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Dr. Joseph Frager is the chairman of Israel advocacy for the Rabbinical Alliance of America, chairman of the executive committee of American Friends of Ateret Cohanim and executive vice president of the Israel Heritage Foundation.
