|
Trending Topics
|
Returning to the Iran Nuclear Deal Is Not a Simple Prospect
(Jerusalem Post) Elliott Abrams interviewed by Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman - Elliott Abrams, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council for Foreign Relations, served as President Donald Trump's special representative for Iran. He told the Jerusalem Post: "Iran obviously claims it is not seeking a nuclear weapon, but we know how countries behave when they actually don't seek a nuclear weapon. We know how countries behave when they want nuclear energy only. It's not how Iran behaves." "The U.S. has not lifted any sanctions and Iran has been doing more and more terrible things. I wonder today if they [the U.S.] really believe it is possible to rejoin the JCPOA....I think they are probably much less optimistic now." Abrams is also not so sure that Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, wants to get back to the JCPOA, much less negotiate further agreements. Discussing the previous administration's "maximum pressure campaign," Abrams admitted that Iran has moved closer toward developing a nuclear bomb. On the other hand, he said, "If you look at the finances of Hamas and Hizbullah, you see them getting quite a reduced amount from Iran."