US President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference on the nuclear deal with Iran on July 15 in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. (Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images)
President Obama's recent nuclear enrichment agreement with Iran is an example of dangerous naiveté, based on a trust of Iran that is entirely misplaced, coupled with a gift of over $100 billion to Iran that it is likely to spend funding terrorism.
While the president quietly pats himself on the back for negotiating in good faith with a regime that murders Americans, has vowed to destroy Israel, and has no compunction about breaking agreements at its convenience, I am gravely concerned.
The two issues of most concern to me are Iran's history of dishonesty and the release of funds to Iran's government, which I believe Iran will use to fund ongoing terrorist efforts rather than to improve the lot of its people.
When the nuclear talks with Iran first began, the purpose and intent of the plan was to permanently roll back Iran's nuclear program. Over the course of the negotiations, the Obama administration backtracked on the original goals time and time again. While the secretary of state and the president stood in front of podiums and promised to ensure Iran's military nuclear program's dismantlement at the negotiating table, they quickly abandoned that goal. Meanwhile, Iran's ability to lie, cheat and steal its way to success is all too well-documented.
Just take the example of its nuclear site at Fordow. According to a 2003 agreement, Iran was supposed to acknowledge all sites as soon as the decision to begin construction was made. But it hid the Fordow site and refused to acknowledge it until September 2009, after it was detected by Western intelligence agencies.
Iran's concessions rely on the false assumption that it has been truthful in its declarations of how much enriched uranium it currently has and that U.S. intelligence assessments on its programs are accurate. Absent a wide-open inspection arrangement, expecting this murderous regime to comply is simply wishful thinking.
The second issue is that this agreement will provide Iran- backed terrorists a new source of funding. While sanctions based on Iran's support for terrorist activities, human-rights abuses and missile development are not part of this deal, estimates are that with the end of nuclear sanctions, Iran may attain access to as much as $150 billion. The key question then is what Iran will do with those funds.
Given that our modern-day relationship with Iran began in 1979 when the Islamic Republic of Iran allowed the seizure of our embassy in Tehran and held 52 American hostages for 444 days, I am not optimistic Iran's government will use these funds solely for peaceful purposes.
Iran has routinely provided advanced explosive capabilities to our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan, causing the death of American soldiers and thousands of innocent Iraqi and Afghani civilians. Additionally, Iran is a major sponsor and funder of terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
The Iranian government claims that the released funds will go toward peaceful purposes, but I cannot believe it. I am convinced these funds will build a lot of car bombs, improvised explosive devices, and fund terrorists that will place our citizens, friends and allies at great risk.
Why President Obama thinks he can trust Iran is simply a mystery. While he apparently sees Iran and its religious radicals as the leaders of just another nation, those of us who served in the region, as I have on multiple occasions, see Iran for what it is: a terrorist regime that wants to kill Americans and wipe Israel off the map.
The president has now chosen to trust Iran's extremist leaders to adhere to a deal. I have no such trust, and will oppose this deal when it reaches Congress.
U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, a Republican, sits on the House Armed Services Committee and Veterans Affairs Committee. He has a combined 21 years of military service and is a veteran of the first Gulf War and the Iraq War.
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