Trump plans to embolden America, not the Iranian regime

Next month will prove to be a pivotal milestone for the Trump administration’s foreign policy position on the Iranian nuclear threat. In October, President Trump will face Congress with a decision on whether Iran has been fully complying with the inherently flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — the Iran nuclear agreement.

At stake are the security interests of America and our allies.

Following President Trump’s decision, Congress will have 60 days to decide whether sanctions against Iran should be re-imposed.

{mosads}This decision is a big deal, since it could potentially end America’s commitment to the calamitous accord.

On Sept. 19, President Trump shared his thoughts concerning this critical foreign policy security concern when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly with his bold posture taking a strong and clear stance against the terrorist mullahs who run the Iranian regime.

President Trump spoke the truth when he said: “The Iranian government masks a corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy. … We cannot let a murderous regime continue these destabilizing activities while building dangerous missiles, and we cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear program. The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into. Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States, and I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it — believe me.”

I, for one, do believe him. But it bears remembering exactly how the United States and our allies ended up in this precarious position. 

Just a couple of years ago Iran’s economy was nearing implosion as a result of almost two decades of isolating economic sanctions. But instead of increasing that economic pressure, which was originally intended to contribute to the dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, the Obama administration made an about face.

Instead of pursuing a path that was yielding results, Obama decided to capitulate to the Iranians at the negotiating table in 2015. Ultimately it culminated in the signing of a shortsighted deal that can be described most accurately as feckless and dangerous. All in the name of vanity.

The Obama administration appeared to be motivated not by what was best for America but by securing a signature foreign policy “accomplishment” at all costs.

The end result was a deal that provided Iran billions in rewards upfront without having to actually dismantle its nuclear program. And now, the Trump administration has inherited the catastrophic repercussions of this terrible deal. 

In recent interviews just before President Trump’s address to the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned: “If we’re going to stick with the Iran deal there has to be changes made to it. The sunset provisions simply is not a sensible way forward. … It’s just simply … kicking the can down the road again for someone in the future to have to deal with.” 

Tillerson also called out Iran for its continued destabilizing behavior in the region, which is counterproductive to the broader goal of the JCPOA, and said that the United States would pursue change in Iran’s behavior in the region by renegotiating the nuclear accord or “in other ways.” 

Within hours of President Trump’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly, the formidable House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) appeared on CNN to say that the United States must increase the pressure on Iran to live up to the commitments outlined in the nuclear deal: “I think we should enforce the hell out of the agreement and thereby enforce compliance on the part of Iran.” 

Royce called out Iran for “violating the spirit of the agreement” and said that the decision by Obama to lift sanctions caused the United States to lose a significant amount of leverage over the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

President Trump’s warning to world leaders and diplomats at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 19 declaring that “it is time for the entire world to join us in demanding that Iran’s government end its pursuit of death and destruction” must not only be heard, but also implemented. If world leaders and responsible nations choose otherwise, then they are opting to embolden a jihadist regime whose end game is to master the warfare of nuclear terrorism.

Let’s hope next month that Congress does not make that fatal mistake.

Armstrong Williams (@ARightSide) is author of the brand new book, “Reawakening Virtues.” He served as an adviser and spokesman for Dr. Ben Carson‘s 2016 presidential campaign, and is on Sirius XM126 Urban View nightly from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.