Iran is home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Diaspora, documented in the biblical books of Esther, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Despite severe persecution since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, it is also the largest Jewish community in the Middle East. The regime claims that its Jews flourish, are loyal citizens, and share in official hostility to Israel. Reality, writes Tammy Reznik, is somewhat different:

In a stranger-than-fiction moment, earlier this month, a small group of Jews gathered in a synagogue in the heart of Tehran to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. . . . A similarly curious moment occurred in April when the Jewish community “chose” to cancel its traditional end-of-Passover celebrations (Mimouna) in favor of “celebrating” al-Quds Day, [during which the regime publicly fantasizes about the cleansing of Jerusalem of Jews]—which happened to fall on the same day this year. In fact, the single Jewish representative in the Iranian parliament, Homayoun Sameyah, very publicly joined in the annual al-Quds Day march demanding Israel’s destruction.

What these events illustrate is the precarious position that the 9,000 or so remaining Jews of Iran find themselves in on a daily basis.

Another consistent trend has been the promotion of Holocaust denial. Beni Sabti, [an Israeli Iran specialist who emigrated from the country as a teenager], says the promotion of Nazi ideology was endemic to the education he received in Iran. “They would hand out copies of Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion for free in mosques, and translated copies in Farsi online.”

Sabti says that, with everything else, Iran’s remaining Jews are forced to use code words when discussing Israel. They often even find ways to visit by circumventing the borders and exiting Iran via a third country. The community is tight, and information on how to travel to Israel secretly is shared.

In 2003, the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, spooked by the American display of might in Iraq, decided to destroy or surrender his entire nuclear program. Informed observers have suggested that the deal he made with the U.S. should serve as a model for any agreement with Iran. Robert Joseph provides some useful background:

Gaddafi had convinced himself that Libya would be next on the U.S. target list after Iraq. There was no reason or need to threaten Libya with bombing as Gaddafi was quick to tell almost every visitor that he did not want to be Saddam Hussein. The images of Saddam being pulled from his spider hole . . . played on his mind.

President Bush’s goal was to have Libya serve as an alternative model to Iraq. Instead of war, proliferators would give up their nuclear programs in exchange for relief from economic and political sanctions.

Any outcome that permits Iran to enrich uranium at any level will fail the one standard that President Trump has established: Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Limiting enrichment even to low levels will allow Iran to break out of the agreement at any time, no matter what the agreement says.

Iran is not a normal government that observes the rules of international behavior or fair “dealmaking.” This is a regime that relies on regional terror and brutal repression of its citizens to stay in power. It has a long history of using negotiations to expand its nuclear program. Its negotiating tactics are clear: extend the negotiations as long as possible and meet any concession with more demands.