Lauren Edmunds
First the Ayatollah, Next US Congress
In a letter to President Hassan
Rouhani, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave the negotiated Iran
Nuclear Deal his stamp of approval earlier today. The letter was read on TV in
Iran, but he then took to his English Twitter account to criticize the deal. He
states that the deal needs to be clearer about the sanctions coming down on
Iran, but overall the deal does have his approval.
This new development in the Iran
Nuclear Deal story comes at a time when domestically, the United States is
still in a tizzy of confusion on what do to about the deal. According to a CNN
poll, about half of all American’s believe Congress should reject the deal,
creating polarization on the issue[1]. Voting
on the deal is still being blocked by Republicans in both the House and Senate,
but so far any resolutions to dissolve the deal have been successfully blocked
by the minority in both chambers. What the American public needs to do,
however, is to learn everything they can about the deal, and then encourage
their representatives to endorse the deal.
The relationship between Iran and
the United States is nothing close to perfect. There is mistrust seeped into
every part of our negotiating with one another, and that was reflected into the
final product. United States government officials do not trust Iran, and the
mass public certainly does not. What the mass public needs to first understand,
is why we do not trust each other. It is true that Iran has been gathering
nuclear materials for years, materials that are essentially used to create
nuclear weapons. We tried to stop this stock piling by creating a “wall” of
sanctions, separating Iran from the West. That clearly was not working, as all
it did was create more mistrust and isolation. Iran denied all accusations of
using the materials to build nuclear weapons, but the United States has no
reason to trust that. This is just the beginning of what the American public
does not understand. The mass public does not recognize why the sanctions weren’t
working, and how those sanctions added fuel to the growing mistrust between
nations.
The Iran Nuclear Deal is obviously
meant to stop Iran from gaining any nuclear weapons without taking away their
full access to nuclear materials. But when mistrust and dubious intentions are
so heavily involved in a relationship, it is nearly impossible for anything
between the two nations to get accomplished. The American public needs to
understand that a diplomatic solution to the issue is the best way to go for
both nations. Sanctioning Iran was not working, and military action would have
created a defensive need for Iran to actually make the weapons they are
claiming not to make. Therefore, a diplomatic solution tackles the issue,
without forcing Iran into a self-defensive corner. It releases the pressure off
of the sanctions, lessening Iran’s isolation, and opens the table up to
continue the building of that trust.
After the public gains a complete
understand and knowledge for the deal, they should actually decide to encourage
their representatives to vote in favor of the deal. This is especially key now
that Iran’s Supreme Leader has endorsed the deal. He may have endorsed it with
criticism, but in the end he is stating his approval. If the United States
Congress goes back on this deal that the President worked so hard to create
now, it could completely ruin the minor amount of trust we have built with
Iran, and completely close the door for any future opportunities to build more
trust. It would make America look untrustworthy, as we would essentially be
going back on our word. It would honestly look like a personal attack on Iran,
which could send them into a defensive tail-spin. Iran would feel like now,
they actually need nuclear weapons, since the United States is not willing to
release the pressure of the sanctions anymore.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei recognizes the gravity of this deal. It could essentially make or
break United States relations with Iran. It is just baffling how many American
people are dead set against the deal, when in reality, they do not fully
comprehend the bigger picture. What the American public needs to do is inform
themselves, then make the right call, and endorse the deal.
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