On October 31, the American envoy to Iran Robert Malley stated that the U.S. does not wish to “waste [its] time” pursuing a renewed nuclear deal with Tehran. Yet Washington has not formally broken off negotiations, nor has it invoked the “snapback” mechanism that would restore international sanctions to their pre-2015 state. David Albright and Henrik Rasmussen argue that, with public opinion turning against Iran due to its support for Russia and violent repression of protests, America and its European allies should do just that. But sanctions should only be the first step:
Second, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should be empowered to investigate and monitor Iran’s nuclear program more fully. Today, Iran can produce enough weapon-grade uranium for a nuclear weapon in less than two weeks, and the IAEA has demonstrated Iran’s violations of its commitment to . . . declare its nuclear activities and maintain a purely peaceful nuclear program. Iran is steadfast in not cooperating with the inspectors, which suggests the regime is protecting a secret nuclear-weapons program and waiting for the right time to build nuclear weapons. . . . Iran’s noncooperation and violations of its safeguards agreement should lead to an IAEA Board of Governors’ referral to the UN Security Council, further isolating Iran.
Third, the West must develop a credible strategy of deterrence by denial, including robust missile-defense capabilities. These capabilities are woefully inadequate to confront Iran’s drone and missile fleets, whether in Ukraine, the eastern flank of NATO, or the Persian Gulf region.
Fourth, the Western powers should get serious about offensive military options to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities if Iran moves to divert nuclear material, kicks out the inspectors, withdraws from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or moves to build nuclear weapons.
Read more on The Hill: https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3732305-scrap-the-iran-nuclear-deal-once-and-for-all/