President Biden, who, at age 80, is among the last Democrats of a generation that supported Israel, has recently made a deal with Iran that has raised concerns. Biden, along with other Democrats such as Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer, grew up during the wars of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and witnessed Yasser Arafat lead terrorist attacks and reject every offer of peace.
Despite this, Biden has made statements reaffirming his commitment to Israel’s security, such as during the 2021 clashes between Israel and Hamas. However, his recent informal deal with Iran has caused alarm. The deal states that Iran will stop trying to kill American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, release American hostages, and limit uranium enrichment to 60 percent. In exchange, the United States will unfreeze between $15 billion and $20 billion and allow Iran to export oil despite U.S. sanctions.
Critics argue that this deal is essentially paying Iran to stop taking American hostages and trying to kill Americans, which is an unprecedented response by a superpower to violent and unlawful actions by a vulnerable middle power. Furthermore, the enrichment to 60 percent has no other possible purpose than to put Iran well on the road to enriching uranium to weapons grade.
General Jacob Nagel, Israel’s former national-security adviser, has criticized the deal for legitimizing all previous Iranian violations and allowing Iran to retain assets obtained through the ongoing violation of all agreements and treaties it has signed. The deal also enables Quds Force’s continued support of terrorism in the Middle East and around the world. It contains no limits on Iran’s continuing missile program, conventional arms sales, or supplies of arms and cash to Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Furthermore, the deal infuses the ayatollah’s regime with cash only months after it brutally repressed an uprising by the Iranian people. From the Israeli perspective, this deal shows an American government anxious to exit the Middle East and willing to see the threats to American friends and allies there increased. Iran will have more cash to give the terrorists in Gaza and the West Bank who are attacking Israel every day, and to Hezbollah so that its immense arsenal can grow further.
The deal also makes it harder for Israel to strike at Iran’s growing nuclear program, as the administration will now argue that with enrichment capped at 60 percent, there’s no imminent danger. Iran, meanwhile, can improve its enrichment capabilities, upgrade its centrifuges, and continue secret work on a warhead.
Overall, this deal reflects the Biden administration’s unwillingness to confront Iran over behavior that has for decades included killing Americans. Critics argue that there are other possible responses to the taking of hostages, ranging from threatening or striking Iran for such conduct until it ceases to believing that a sufficient military deterrent would stop Iran from producing a nuclear weapon. However, President Biden seems to have chosen a path that pays Iran billions to slow down its nuclear program for a few years while allowing it to wreak havoc in the entire Middle East.
