On Saturday, January 16th, “implementation day,” Iran's nuclear program was declared peaceful and international sanctions against Iran were lifted. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement between Iran, the US, and six other world powers, was and is the subject of what is currently America's most divisive foreign policy debate. Some see Iran as a threat to America’s dominance over the Middle East, while others see decades of ineffectual enmity with Iran and believe that compromise and cooperation will serve US interests. Some see a hostile enemy made up of radical conservative Islamist nationalists, others see Iran as a country on the verge of a shift towards democracy. Though some argue that Iran’s history of supporting terrorist
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The regime, led by supreme leader Ali Khamenei, relied on the nuclear dispute to appeal to radical conservatives within the country, by portraying international pressures on Iran to stop stockpiling enriched uranium as an attempt by the West to hold Iran back scientifically and undermine its sovereignty. The Iranian government is described as a “theocratic republic,” in which appointed --not elected-- officials hold the real power; the president, elected by popular vote, answers to the supreme leader, who is appointed for life by a religious board and ultimately has control of all three branches of government, the military, and the media. Governmental figures in Iran are divided into moderates, who support progress and even secularism; radicals, who do not; and conservatives, who are the middle ground. Under Khamenei's radical Islamist nationalism, people are hanged by the hundreds: political dissenters, journalists and lawyers, students, ethnic and religious minorities, women, young adolescents. This “republic” has the highest per capita execution rate of its citizens: since the Rouhani took office, over 1500 citizens have been hanged. With the nuclear deal, Iranians see a defeat for Khamenei and his radical supporters. And Tehran losing the backing of its radical religious conservatives encourages political and cultural reform from within the …show more content…
Though the Tehran Regime justified Iran’s nuclear program under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, claiming their nuclear technology was being used for peaceful purposes, given that the nuclear program was resumed just after the Iran-Iraq war, and that Iran is caged on three sides by the opposing forces of the US, Russia, and Arab nations including Israel and Iraq, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to extrapolate that Iran may have also wanted to develop its nuclear program for defense. Before the Iranian government started dismantling the bulk of its nuclear program, it would have taken them only two to three months to gather enough enriched uranium to create a nuclear weapon. But after shipping 25,000 pounds of enriched uranium out of the country, disassembling two-thirds of its centrifuges, and filling its heavy water reactor with concrete, today, it would take them a year or more. In addition to this, Iran’s nuclear materials, centrifuge production lines, and any purchases at all that could be used for a nuclear program will be closely monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, who will also be able to conduct inspections on their nuclear facilities at any time. These restrictions and inspections on Iran’s nuclear program completely eliminate the threat of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. If Iran were to the agreement, sanctions
The regime, led by supreme leader Ali Khamenei, relied on the nuclear dispute to appeal to radical conservatives within the country, by portraying international pressures on Iran to stop stockpiling enriched uranium as an attempt by the West to hold Iran back scientifically and undermine its sovereignty. The Iranian government is described as a “theocratic republic,” in which appointed --not elected-- officials hold the real power; the president, elected by popular vote, answers to the supreme leader, who is appointed for life by a religious board and ultimately has control of all three branches of government, the military, and the media. Governmental figures in Iran are divided into moderates, who support progress and even secularism; radicals, who do not; and conservatives, who are the middle ground. Under Khamenei's radical Islamist nationalism, people are hanged by the hundreds: political dissenters, journalists and lawyers, students, ethnic and religious minorities, women, young adolescents. This “republic” has the highest per capita execution rate of its citizens: since the Rouhani took office, over 1500 citizens have been hanged. With the nuclear deal, Iranians see a defeat for Khamenei and his radical supporters. And Tehran losing the backing of its radical religious conservatives encourages political and cultural reform from within the …show more content…
Though the Tehran Regime justified Iran’s nuclear program under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, claiming their nuclear technology was being used for peaceful purposes, given that the nuclear program was resumed just after the Iran-Iraq war, and that Iran is caged on three sides by the opposing forces of the US, Russia, and Arab nations including Israel and Iraq, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to extrapolate that Iran may have also wanted to develop its nuclear program for defense. Before the Iranian government started dismantling the bulk of its nuclear program, it would have taken them only two to three months to gather enough enriched uranium to create a nuclear weapon. But after shipping 25,000 pounds of enriched uranium out of the country, disassembling two-thirds of its centrifuges, and filling its heavy water reactor with concrete, today, it would take them a year or more. In addition to this, Iran’s nuclear materials, centrifuge production lines, and any purchases at all that could be used for a nuclear program will be closely monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, who will also be able to conduct inspections on their nuclear facilities at any time. These restrictions and inspections on Iran’s nuclear program completely eliminate the threat of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. If Iran were to the agreement, sanctions