The Iran Nuclear Deal
The day that Barack Obama took office back in 2008, many Iranians and Iranian-Americans had high hopes and dreams that he would attempt to rebuild relations with Iran. Well, those hopes and dreams became a reality when he announced a joint mission by the US and 4 other world powers to bring about a deal regarding Iran’s nuclear program that would benefit both Iran and the world. In return for removal of crippling sanctions, Iran promised to roll back its nuclear program to prevent them from building a nuclear bomb. This was one of the high points of President Obama’s presidency as he has created a safer Middle East and even a safer world. As with every deal that has ever been implemented, there are critics that will oppose for a variety of reasons. Critics have stated that we are giving Iran too much in return for too little. They also say that Iran has been a known sponsor of terrorism worldwide and will use the newly acquired leverage as a means to advance their agenda.
This assumption is based on very loose and incomplete facts by mostly the right-wing parties who merely oppose the deal because it was brought about by the Obama administration. We need to endorse this deal simply because it benefits us all in ways that many do not see and are unaware of. In addition to giving Iran sanctions relief that has crippled their economy for the past decade now, the US is also giving Iran about $150 billion in total over the course of a couple years in frozen assets, airplanes, etc. that Iran has not been able to access because of sanctions.
Many have stated that we are giving this money to Iran in exchange for nothing. Newly elected president, Donald Trump, has stated in one of his speeches that "we give them $150 billion, we get nothing." Many critics of the Iran also share this point of view and are deeply concerned with this issue. Senator John McCain of Arizona has publicly said the Obama administration “added $400 million to the coffers of the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism at a time when it is actively working to destabilize the Middle East and undermine U.S. national security interests.”(qtd. in “Critics of Iran Nuclear Deal Attack U.S. Cash Payment”) This $400 million that the senator is referring is the first payment that Iran has gotten. Now in this statement that Senator says that Iran is the number one state sponsor of terrorism and that their recent actions have destabilized the Middle east. This directly ties in with the argument that Iran is getting too much money and that money will go towards achieving their agenda which might include sponsoring terrorism. Dana Stuster in her magazine article titled “Iran Still Leading State Sponsor of Terrorism” states that “The State Department released its annual report on terrorism yesterday. As in previous years, Iran was identified as the leading state sponsor of terrorism on account of its support for designated terrorist groups and proxy militias in Leban...
