Iran, Decertification, and the Dangerous Alternatives

Late on Thursday afternoon,the Washington Post reported that President Trump plans to undermine American involvement in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by “decertifying” Iranian compliance with the deal and kicking the issue to congress.This move is hardly unexpected: when he last certified Iranian compliance with the deal 90 days ago, President Trumpreportedly told staff“he wants to be in a place to decertify 90 days from now and it’s their job to put him there.” Yet as that quote suggests, the President’s decision is not based in any reality-based assessment of the deal. Iran is in fact complying with the deal, a fact verified repeatedly by theInternational Atomic Energy Agency.Many of Trump ’s own advisors disagree with his decision. On Tuesday,Secretary of Defense James Mattis told Congress that he believed it was in the U.S. national interest to remain in the deal. They are undoubtedly aware that the President ’s choice will most likely undermine or end U.S. participation in the nuclear deal, split us from our European allies, reduce the constraints on Iran’s nuclear program, and reduce America’s global credibility and negotiating power.In anewly published Cato Policy Analysis, my colleagueJohn Glaser and I examine the grounds for retaining the nuclear deal, and explore the alternatives that the Trump administration could decide to pursue. Our analysis suggests that the prospects for a better approach are bleak.We examine four key alter...

Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 5, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Emma Ashford Source Type: blogs