Iran signs on the dotted line. The Wall Street Journal, Monday:
Iran has been a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons since 1970. As a signatory, the country has committed to use nuclear material and technology only for peaceful purposes — and to co-operate with inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran also signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. President Barack Obama was confident of his deal. White House library, August 5, 2015:
After two years of negotiations, we have achieved a detailed arrangement that permanently prohibits Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. It cuts off all of Iran’s pathways to a bomb.
This was lauded by those in the know. White House library, January 16, 2016:
General Colin Powell, former secretary of state: “My judgment is that it’s a pretty good deal.” Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state: “Rejection of this accord would leave the United States isolated.” Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser to president George HW Bush: “The Iran deal: An epochal moment that congress shouldn’t squander.” Heads of state, the United Kingdom, Germany and France: “The agreement provides the foundation for resolving the conflict on Iran’s nuclear program permanently.”
The Iranians are treacherous. Those in the know knew less than they thought. The New York Times, June 19:
International nuclear inspectors and the United States accused Iran on Friday of hiding suspected nuclear activity, the first time in more than eight years that Tehran has been accused of obstructing inspections, paving the way for a new confrontation with Western powers.
Read this pastiche in The Australian.