U.S. Secretaries of State and Energy Defend Nuclear Agreement with Iran

John Kerry, Secretary of State, and Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy of the United States, in an article for the Washington Post, reiterate their defense of the agreement reached on July 14 in Vienna, stating that this agreement is not only the best way but also the most durable way to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Tehran has always emphasized that its nuclear program only pursues peaceful objectives. Nevertheless, the failure to comply with the demands of the United Nations led Iran's nuclear file during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency to the Security Council, resulting in extensive sanctions that had no way out until the comprehensive agreement in Vienna. The U.S. Secretaries of State and Energy refer to the nuclear capabilities that Tehran had achieved by the time Barack Obama took office, including 200,000 centrifuges, and state that Obama committed to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. They assert that the agreement reached prevents Iran from potentially producing fissile materials, including highly enriched uranium and plutonium, for use in nuclear weapons. They emphasize that this agreement is based on 'verification' and not trust. This statement was also made by the President of the United States shortly after the parties reached the comprehensive agreement. Moniz and Kerry state that if Iran does not fulfill its commitments, sanctions will be reinstated, and no country will be able to prevent that. Previously, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, had stated in a speech at the Islamic Consultative Assembly that UN sanctions would not return under any circumstances and that the new Security Council resolution (regarding the Vienna agreement) has no punitive mechanism. The Obama administration ministers in their article claim that the comprehensive agreement with Iran is beneficial for both the United States and global security. They state that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, if they suspect any activity from Iran, can request access to any site within 24 hours based on the 'Additional Protocol.' According to them, the comprehensive agreement has empowered this possibility by creating a new mechanism and prevents Tehran from delaying visits indefinitely. Kerry and Moniz also emphasized that time in the Vienna agreement is not unlimited. The U.S. ministers added that Tehran could still pose a threat to stability in the Middle East. However, they argue that by removing the nuclear threat from Iran through the agreement reached, it becomes much easier to address other issues arising from Iran's activities in the region. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic stated following the Vienna agreement that Iran's policy towards the U.S. 'will not change in any case' and that the two countries are not supposed to have 'bilateral' and 'regional' negotiations on 'various global issues.' In the same statements, Ayatollah Khamenei mentioned regional countries; Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq, stating, 'We will not cease our support for our friends in the region.' Both ministers wrote in their article that sanctions related to human rights, terrorism, or missile issues remain in place. They also stated that the U.S. withdrawal from this agreement would be a 'historic mistake.' This article and the remarks of the two U.S. ministers are published at a time when the comprehensive agreement with Iran has gone to the U.S. Congress for review, where the Republican majority is largely opposed to it. In recent days, officials from the Obama administration, including Obama himself, have begun efforts to present the agreement and garner majority support for it. Recent polling results show that the majority of Americans, despite doubts about the agreement's ability to prevent Iran from 'arming itself with nuclear weapons,' support the agreement reached and diplomatic efforts. Moniz and Kerry emphasized Obama's determination to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, but added that neither sanctions nor military action can necessarily be effective in this regard, while the comprehensive agreement reached in Vienna can be. In this context, Obama compared opponents of the nuclear agreement with Iran to warmongers. U.S. Secretary of Defense: We are committed to countering Iran's harmful influence in the region. Barack Obama: Iran will continue to be a problem for the region. John Boehner: I will do everything to prevent the implementation of the Iran agreement.