Russia-Ukraine is Another Reason That the Iran Deal was a Blunder
Last updated 02:45 PM EDT • Read time: 4m
One of President Barack Obama’s “crowning achievements” was the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran deal. As the world saw a hostile Iran try to enrich uranium, Obama, and other global leaders, believed they should provide Iran financial incentives to stop developing nuclear weapons. In theory this would seem like a good idea. If the global community wanted something from Iran, then these leaders would need to give Iran something in exchange. But such a theory assumed that Iran was a trustworthy partner. Iran’s actions in Russia add to the long list of reasons why the global community should have never trusted Iran.
Prior to the Iran deal, Iran did not have a stellar record. It had decades of human rights violations. In the decade leading up to the Iran deal, the nation had a president who said he wanted to wipe Israel off the map and had denied the Holocaust. Iran’s presidential administrations had consistently violently oppressed pro-democracy demonstrators. Still, the US has negotiated with nations that have worse human rights record than Iran. The US has placated North Korea on nuclear weapons, which has a worse human rights record than Iran. So arguably these transgressions did not disqualify Iran.
But unlike most nations that the US had negotiated with, Iran had recently provided military support to America’s enemies. During the Iraq war, Iran armed the insurgents in Iraq. Iran’s assistance helped kill many Americans in Iraq. Someone could make an argument that these transgressions occurred in Iran’s backyard, so the US was right to excuse these acts in the pursuit of peace, because Iran might have considered the US a threat.
But then came Iran’s involvement in Syria. Obama claimed that if Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, used chemical weapons against his own people, then Syria would have crossed a “red line” and the US would intervene. Assad used chemical weapons, and Obama did not enforce his “red line.”
Reports indicate that Obama held back because he did not want to potentially jeopardize the Iran deal because Syria was Iran’s ally, so Iran was actively supporting Assad. Iran continued to support Syria during the Iran deal.
The Obama not only failed to stop Iran in Syria, they also gave Iran more money, which likely helped fund Iran’s various atrocities. Again, someone could argue that Iran needed to support Syria before the Iran deal because Syria was Iran’s ally. But Iran to continued support for Syria during the Iran deal’s existence shows that the deal did nothing to save lives and bring stability to the region.
Iran is now helping Russia. Iran made this decision on its own and its support of Russia is making a difference. Iran’s weapons are killing Ukrainians and prolonging the war. The longer Russia can survive, the harder it is to negotiate peace. The greater the violence, the more that Russia becomes unstable, which could lead to Putin using even more destructive weapons.
On top of aiding deaths Ukraine, Iran has recently murdered and imprisoned pro-democracy protesters in its own nation. This is the third wave of protests since the Obama administration, and the second since Iran deal.
Obama recently said he regretted not supporting the protests for freedom when he was president. Through the Iran deal, Obama not only failed to support the protesters, he also gave Iran more resources to murder and oppress people throughout the world.
Obama, and other supporters of the Iran deal sought to drum up public support for it by claiming that it would bring more peace and stability. Yet the Iran deal assisted a regime that that has consistently created terror. Some might claim that Iran would not be aiding Russia had the US not withdrawn from the Iran deal, but Iran’s actions in Iraq, Syria, and towards its own people, show that is not true.
No one wants a war with Iran. But many of the same leaders looking to antagonize Russia are the ones who thought the world should treat Iran with kid gloves. Now Iran and Russia are both emboldened due to these leaders.
Todd Carney is an international lawyer and a frequent writer on international issues. He earned his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School.
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