Analysis & Opinions - Defense One

Scuttle the Iran Nuke Deal? That Approach Didn’t Stop North Korea

| Apr. 26, 2017

“The Trump administration is currently conducting across the entire government a review of our Iran policy,” U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced on April 19, adding that “an unchecked Iran has the potential to follow the same path as North Korea and take the world along with it.” Ironically, the Trump administration appears to be following the same path on Iran as George W. Bush did on North Korea. The result could be equally dangerous.

By undermining implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA — a viable, verified, and sound agreement that blocks Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — President Trump risks removing the shackles from Tehran’s nuclear efforts. We’ve been down that road before; instead of preserving and strengthening the Agreed Framework with North Korea, Bush freed Pyongyang to keep working on nuclear weapons that could eventually reach American territory.

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For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation: Wolfsthal, Jon.“Scuttle the Iran Nuke Deal? That Approach Didn’t Stop North Korea.” Defense One, April 26, 2017.

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